Working with Kennford Development is refreshingly different in today’s fast paced and often impersonal property market. Our approach centres around genuine commitment. Every promise made during initial discussions is met with unwavering dedication. This integrity forms the backbone of our business and has cultivated strong, enduring relationships with clients who return time and again for the same high standard of service they’ve come to trust.
Founder and Managing Director
Kantesh Popat, an accomplished and visionary developer, drives Kennford Development’s operations with a proven track record of success across diverse sectors. From acquisitions and refurbishments to groundbreaking new builds, Kantesh has expertly delivered projects in hospitality, healthcare, residential, mixed-use developments and student accommodation.
His expertise spans the entire development cycle, from site identification to project completion, blending technical precision with a focus on quality and community impact. This holistic approach guarantees that every project meets the highest technical, regulatory and financial standards while delivering exceptional outcomes.
Investor Relations and Finance
Shyam Popat brings a strong financial and accounting background to Kennford Development, having started his career at Ernst & Young, where he gained extensive experience in financial management, auditing and strategic investment analysis. His expertise in cost control, risk management and financial structuring ensures that Kennford Development operates with strong fiscal discipline and long-term sustainability.
As Head of Investor Relations & Finance, Shyam oversees an in-house finance team, ensuring that all financial data, project costs and investment insights are readily available to support informed decision-making. With a deep understanding of development finance and project funding, he ensures that Kennford Development maintains tight financial oversight, allowing for efficient budgeting, resource allocation and risk mitigation. By leveraging real-time financial insights, Shyam enables Kennford Development to deliver projects with precision and financial efficiency, ensuring that every development is managed with transparency and accountability.
At Kennford Development, we pride ourselves on collaborating with market leaders in their areas of expertise to bring your projects to life. We understand the challenges you face in getting your schemes off the ground. That’s why we’ve assembled a team of professionals who are committed to supporting you every step of the way offering clear, straightforward guidance to help turn your vision into reality.
Our principal team, Ken, Ed and James began their journey together over 15 years ago, collaborating on a landmark commercial project in Halifax, West Yorkshire. This notable development involved designing a 40,000 sq. ft. hotel, retaining the stunning facades of a Grade II-listed former theatre within the town's conservation area. Despite the project not gaining any traction this taught the team how they can support each others businesses. Since then, they have continued to work as a cohesive unit, delivering a diverse range of residential and commercial developments across the country, with a particular emphasis on London and the Southeast. They have also worked closely with Elliot Wood Partnerships for the civil and structural engineering needs of projects that they have worked together on over the years.
Director responsible for managing Edmond Shipways Nottingham office with over 25 years experience of working in the construction industry, in particular the Residential, Hotels, Leisure and Hospitality Sectors across the UK
Skilled in Feasibility Studies, Construction delivery, Refurbishments, Value Engineering and Project Management. Ensuring buildings are designed efficiently and to meet the clients requirements to make schemes as viable as possible.
Ed has twenty-five years’ experience working in the commercial and residential sectors and is Managing Director of a busy architect’s practice. Based in Yorkshire, the firm works across the UK to deliver high quality projects that are designed to meet the individual needs of each client. During his career, Ed has worked on all aspects of the design process from feasibility studies through to managing works on site for a range of developers and private clients – many of whom are repeat customers. As well as designing residential projects from small extensions to large country houses, he has also designed and detailed several complex town centre developments including many historic and listed buildings. Ed has a keen interest in sustainability both in adapting old buildings to meet modern standards, and pushing the boundaries of sustainable construction on new build properties.