Land Banking in the UK: How It Works

What land banking is: two meanings

Developer land banking. In the building trade, a land bank is the stock of sites a developer owns or controls for future schemes. Planning, design and legal work take time, so a builder needs sites lined up ahead of the next build. The developer controls the whole site and pays for the planning application itself.

Investor land banking schemes. Here a company buys land, divides it into small plots and sells them to investors. The FCA describes the expectation as the value rising once the land becomes available for development.

The same two words describe both. That is why a plot seller can borrow the language of housebuilding to make a field sound like a development site.

Not sure which kind you have been offered? The FCA's warning signs below will tell you.

The FCA warning on land banking schemes

The Financial Conduct Authority keeps a warning page on land banking investment scams. It was last updated on 19 January 2026. Its main points are below, in plain terms.

1. The land. It is often in areas of natural beauty or historical interest, so it has little chance of being built on.
2. The pitch. Buyers are told of large profits once permission is granted or building starts.
3. The reality. Permission is often never granted, or even applied for. That leaves land that is practically worthless.
4. The small print. It usually says success depends on planning permission being granted.
5. The contact. It is often unexpected, but can also come by email, post, word of mouth or a seminar.

The FCA adds that not every land banking scheme is a scam. But the limits on building, or the fact the land is protected, are often not made clear.

Regulation matters here. The FCA does not regulate the sale of land, so buyers may have no route to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS. It does regulate collective investment schemes. It can act on a land banking scheme only when one is run as a collective scheme without authorisation.

Signs of a collective scheme include buyers with no day-to-day control of their plot, pooled money, and an operator who runs the whole scheme. The FCA notes that schemes can be set up to avoid looking like one on paper.

Watch for a second approach. The FCA warns of follow-up scams: offers to buy back your plot, or to recover your money, for a fee. Our guide to property development investment scams covers the wider warning signs.

Been offered a plot like this? Run the four checks further down before you pay a deposit.

Developer land banks vs investor land banking schemes

The two share a name and very little else. The table sets them side by side, using the FCA's description of schemes.

The key point is control. A planning application is made for a site, with its access and services. A buyer who holds one plot inside a field shared with many others has no practical way to apply alone.

A developer also has a reason to spend money on planning: it plans to build. The FCA notes that scheme promoters often do not even apply.

Unsure which column your plot sits in? Send us the details and we will give you a free first view.

How to check a plot of land before you buy

Whether someone offers you a plot or a whole site, the same four checks apply. They cost little, and you can do them yourself.

1. HM Land Registry title

For land in England and Wales, a property summary is free. A title register or title plan costs £7 each to download. The register usually shows the owner, the price last paid, any mortgage, and covenants or easements.

The plan shows the general boundaries. Downloads are not proof of ownership; an official copy costs £11 per document.

2. Planning history

Search the address on the council's online planning register. Look for past applications, refusals and appeals on the land and its neighbours. A field with no applications at all tells you something too.

3. Green Belt map

Search the postcode on the government's Planning Data map with the Green Belt layer shown. Our Green Belt map guide walks through it step by step. Inside the Green Belt, most new building is inappropriate unless an NPPF exception applies. See what Green Belt land is and when you can build on it.

4. Allocation in the local plan

Planning decisions follow the council's development plan unless other matters weigh against it. The policies map shows the plan's policies on a map, including any sites allocated for housing. Councils must publish the adopted plan.

Stuck on one of the checks? Send us the plot address and we will look at its planning prospects for free.

Real alternatives to a land banking scheme

If the aim is to own land that can be built on, there are plainer routes than buying a plot in a divided field. Two are set out below. Craftex does not offer investments or financial advice. For any investment product, the FCA says to deal only with authorised firms and to consider independent financial advice.

Buy a development site directly. You own the whole site and its title. You can read the planning history and the constraints, and check the local plan before you offer. Most of all, you can price the build before you commit.

We source off-market sites across London and the UK, and test each deal first. That means the planning chance, build cost from our own team and a residual appraisal. We did that on the Allitsen Road study.

A joint venture on a named site. A joint venture for property development is a written agreement between named parties on one identified site. Our joint ventures are for landowners: you bring the site, we bring the team. Before signing, you can see the title, the planning position and the costs. Take your own legal advice on the terms.

Rob Barton, our Development Director, took 10,000+ homes through planning in his previous housebuilding roles.

Have a site in mind, or an agent's pack on your desk? Send us the address and ask for a free first view. We check the title, the planning route and the constraints before you commit.