Roma Finance has been confirmed as the finance partner for the launch and national rollout of the Refurb Calculator, a new digital tool designed to give property developers, investors and entrepreneurs faster, more accurate refurbishment cost estimates based on live market data.
Developed by Tony Walker, Founder of Help Build, alongside Rich Devenport of Overstone, the Refurb Calculator produces a full breakdown of refurbishment expenditure — including budget totals, a schedule of works and a cost summary — within minutes. Estimates are generated using live procurement data from Help Build’s delivery team, ensuring pricing reflects real-time material, labour and allowance fluctuations across the UK.
Roma Finance’s role as finance partner reinforces its commitment to supporting solutions that improve appraisal quality, cost forecasting and project success rates — particularly in refurbishment, where variability can materially affect outcomes.
Refurbishment costing remains one of the most complex areas of development appraisal. Location alone can introduce cost variance of over 35%, while delivery method and specification detail can significantly shift projected profitability. Traditional estimation methods often rely on broad assumptions or m² benchmarks, which can lead to underestimated budgets, unplanned overspend and reduced returns.
“Every refurbishment must be costed on its own merit — there is no universal m² figure, and relying on one puts profitability at risk,” said Tony Walker, Founder & Director of Refurb Calculator. “With the Refurb Calculator, developers can view a property, input what they see and receive a full breakdown built on the same pricing our team uses to cost and deliver refurb projects every week. It creates cost certainty from day one, and that is a powerful shift for the industry.”
A key feature of the platform is the generation of a schedule of works, enabling developers to secure like-for-like contractor quotes, manage expenditure with greater discipline and protect profit margins throughout project delivery.
Michael Allison, Commercial Director at Roma Finance, added: “At Roma Finance, we focus on building long-term relationships with our customers, supporting them with more than just lending. We provide expertise, guidance and introductions to trusted professionals and tools that help them make informed development decisions,”
“Partnering with Refurb Calculator aligns perfectly with this approach — it gives developers access to data-driven refurbishment costings, enabling them to plan with confidence, reduce risk and improve project outcomes. In working with Tony, we’ve been genuinely impressed by his focus, clarity of vision and commitment to helping developers succeed. Supporting innovation like this is part of how we help our customers move forward and deliver successful projects.”
The Refurb Calculator requires no training, drawings or prior cost expertise, and is suitable for developers of all experience levels.
