2003 – Present: Founder and CEO Cobalt Developments

Chris Swan is currently CEO of Cobalt Developments which is an active property development company in both the UK commercial property sector as well as in the USA where the company focuses more on residential property development.

Cobalt Developments in the UK:

The UK operation of Cobalt Developments focuses primarily on the development of Greenfield sites as well as the building of warehouses and offices. In addition to the building and development of commercial properties, Chris Swan has further concentrated Cobalt Developments’ strategy on the sale and leaseback of property for management buyouts or companies that wish to re-finance. The company also extends its services to the refurbishment and sale of rundown industrial estates. For more information visit www.cobaltdevelopments.com

In the relatively short period of time since the launch of Cobalt Developments in 2003, Chris Swan and the company have achieved many noteworthy milestones:

• The company has built substantial value via the rental of 14 commercial properties.
• Cobalt Developments has completed more than 38 transactions ranging in value between £850k and £7000k gross development value.
• All transactions achieved an impressive return of 25% on sales.
• Chris Swan cleverly mitigated the effect of the current UK property downturn on Cobalt Developments by ensuring timely property exits and implementing strategic suspensions to certain business developments.

In the seven years of operation, Chris Swan and Cobalt Developments have been successful in building a strong brand identity and reputation within the UK commercial property marketplace, whilst still achieving financial success in what has essentially been a tough economic climate for the industry in recent times.

Cobalt Developments in the U.S.A.:

The U.S. operation of Cobalt Developments focuses on the development of Greenfield residential properties. Chris Swan identified a major opportunity to expand Cobalt Developments into the US and selected Charleston, South Carolina as a potential location for growth through regeneration and the highly receptive local agencies. For more information visit www.hunleywaters.com

Chris engaged with local Charleston planners, town officials (including the Mayor) and other stakeholders to establish a positive, collaborative relationship based upon open dialogue. This working relationship flourished for Chris Swan as Cobalt Developments proceeded to develop a 36 home development named Hunley Waters.

Cobalt Developments was able to reduce costs, lead times and assure the supreme quality of the houses by using an innovative factory build construction process to build the award winning Earthcraft green homes.

Chris Swan once again showed his keen eye for investment opportunities by investing in additional land banking opportunities within the U.S. to take advantage of the current downturn which is being experienced in the area. This investment will no doubt produce further economic and financial rewards for Chris Swan and Cobalt Developments.