Lost it All Then Built 400 Homes

In this episode of The Developers Club Podcast, we sit down with Mark Aylwin, Co-Founder & Construction Director at Callisto Homes, to discuss what it really takes to build and scale a residential development business in today's market. Mark shares his journey from running a construction company to becoming a property developer, explaining how strong partnerships, construction expertise and disciplined decision-making helped build a pipeline of more than 400 homes across Kent. The conversation also explores one of the toughest periods of Mark's career. Following the collapse of Carillion, he lost his business and his house, forcing him to rebuild from the ground up. He reflects on the lessons that experience taught him about resilience, leadership, risk and long-term thinking. Alongside his personal story, Mark shares practical insight into funding development projects, managing construction risk, working with joint venture partners, value engineering, scaling a business and why property development is ultimately a finance business as much as a construction one. Whether you're an experienced developer, working in construction, or looking to build your first development project, this episode offers an honest and practical perspective on the realities of delivering successful residential schemes. In this episode, we cover: • Mark's journey from contractor to developer • Losing everything after the collapse of Carillion • Building a pipeline of more than 400 homes • Joint ventures and scaling a development business • Funding, finance and managing development risk • Construction, planning and value engineering • The UK property market and where opportunities exist • Leadership, resilience and lessons from adversity Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:42 - How Mark got into property development 01:45 - Why he left contracting to become a developer 02:40 - Building a 400+ home development pipeline 05:15 - Breaking down the first development deal 09:12 - The biggest risks on live projects 12:42 - Mistakes made and lessons learned 15:40 - What people misunderstand about developers 18:50 - Scaling a development business 21:28 - The UK property market outlook 26:58 - Where Mark would invest today 29:08 - Why property development is a finance business 31:03 - Managing pressure as a business owner 32:20 - The mindset every developer needs 36:41 - Losing everything after the Carillion collapse 40:46 - How losing his house changed his approach to business 43:57 - Building communities, not just homes 46:58 - The biggest challenges developers face today 48:10 - Final thoughts If you enjoyed this episode, please like the video, subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications so you never miss a future episode of The Developers Club Podcast. 🎧 Available now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts 🔔 Subscribe for more expert conversations on UK property development, construction and business leadership CONNECT WITH THE DEVELOPERS CLUB 🎧 Listen on your preferred platform: YouTube:    / @thedevelopersclub   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/thedeve... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📲 Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thed... Instagram:   / thedevelopersclub   TikTok:   / thedevelopersclub   X (Twitter): https://x.com/_developersclub Facebook:   / thedevelopersclub.uk   💬 Book a discovery call: [email protected] 🌐 Visit: https://www.thedevelopersclub.co.uk JOIN OUR COMMUNITY • Explore membership options and find your pathway in development • Be part of our mission to deliver 10,000 new homes by 2030 HELP US GROW • Leave a review on Apple Podcasts • Share this episode with your network • Interested in partnering or sponsoring the show? Get in touch #TheDevelopersClub #PropertyDevelopment #Construction #BuiltEnvironment #BusinessLeadership #ProjectDelivery #PropertyDevelopers #ConstructionIndustry #CTGroup #UKProperty