Selecting the right procurement route
The procurement route determines how design responsibility, risk and cost certainty are allocated. Procurement advice saves time and cost downstream.
Traditional procurement
Client appoints a design team to prepare detailed drawings before tendering. Maximum control over quality, good cost certainty. Suited to refurbishment and quality-critical projects.
Design and build
Contractor takes design and construction responsibility. Transfers design risk, can be faster. An Employer's Agent administers the contract.
Management contracting
A management contractor manages construction with trade contractors. Flexibility and early involvement but less cost certainty. Suited to complex or fast-track projects.
Making the right choice
Depends on design quality, cost certainty, speed and risk allocation. A contract administrator can advise on the most appropriate route.
Matching the route to the client's real priority
Procurement-route selection is one of the highest-leverage decisions on any building project, and it should be driven by the client's genuine priority rather than habit. If cost certainty before commitment matters most, a traditional route with a fully developed design and a firm price is strongest. If speed matters most, design-and-build lets design and construction overlap. If design control and quality matter most - common on listed or architecturally sensitive London property - traditional or construction management preserves the client's grip on the detail.
There is no universally 'best' route; there is only the route that best fits the constraint the client is least willing to flex. Naming that constraint explicitly at the outset prevents the most common and most expensive procurement mistake: choosing a route that optimises for something the client did not actually care about.
Risk allocation and why it drives the price
Every procurement route is, underneath, a risk-allocation decision. Design-and-build transfers design risk to the contractor - but the contractor prices that risk, so apparent certainty is bought, not free. Traditional retains design risk with the client and design team, which can be cheaper if the design is genuinely complete and more expensive if it is not. Two-stage tendering brings the contractor in early to de-risk buildability and programme at the cost of less competitive tension on price.
On refurbishment and remedial work to existing London buildings - where opening-up routinely reveals unknowns - the route should make explicit allowance for that uncertainty rather than pretend it away. A traditional contract with a realistic contingency and a clear change-control mechanism often outperforms a design-and-build lump sum that simply prices the unknowns pessimistically.
Frequently asked questions
Which gives most cost certainty?
Traditional with a fully detailed design. D&B offers good certainty once the contract is signed.
Which is fastest?
D&B generally because design and construction overlap.
Who carries design risk in D&B?
The contractor develops a compliant design against the client's requirements.
Can I change route mid-project?
Changing is disruptive and costly. Decide early based on clear priorities.
Primary sources and further reading
Links checked 18 July 2026. These primary and professional sources provide general context; they do not confirm how the guide applies to a particular building or appointment.
Source material
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Procurement & Tendering
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A chartered project professional should confirm route comparisons, design responsibility and risk allocation for the intended contract and project constraints.
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Ross Alinari
Director, Construction and Project Delivery.
Writes on Construction delivery, Refurbishment, Remedial works, Procurement, Project oversight. See the full team profile.