Damien Clifford is the founder of Ethos EQ and a specialist in early-stage cost consultancy, operating across RIBA Stages 0 to project completion.

With experience managing large-scale developments as a surveyor, Damien has seen first-hand how projects succeed or fail long before anyone steps on site. That early exposure to cost, procurement, and decision-making has shaped a very honest view of why so many construction projects struggle financially.

In this episode, Damien breaks down where things commonly go wrong between clients, consultants, and contractors and how better alignment at the front end can prevent cost overruns, disputes, and commercial breakdowns later on.

We explore:

• How managing global portfolios has shaped Damien’s approach to cost control

• Why margins are so thin in construction and how alternative procurement routes could improve them

• How costs and budgets spiral out of control on projects, often earlier than people realise

• What contractors get wrong when engaging with surveyors and project managers — and how to improve their chances of securing work

• Why turnover is often chased at the expense of profitability, and whether ego plays a role

• How final accounts can be manoeuvred within contracts, leading to disputes and non-payment

This is a practical, straight-talking conversation about money, risk, and behaviour in construction and how the industry can do better with clearer thinking, stronger procurement, and more honest engagement at the early stages.

A must-listen for contractors, surveyors, project managers, and anyone involved in controlling cost and risk on projects.

Ollie Plastow returns to SQ FT Stories for a second episode, but this time, the format is different.

Rather than a full life or business journey, this episode is a candid catch-up between two people actively working in the Design & Build and construction industry, reflecting on what’s changed since Ollie’s last appearance and what’s really happening on the ground right now.

We talk openly about the realities of running businesses in today’s market, the pressures across the supply chain, and the topics that keep coming up in conversations behind closed doors.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Ollie’s business has evolved since his last time on the podcast.
• What good business development in construction actually looks like and why it’s still misunderstood.
• Why subcontractors continue to struggle with payment and where responsibility sits.
• How tight margins shape behaviour across the industry.
• The knock-on effects these pressures have on people, projects, and relationships.

To finish, we switch things up with a quick-fire round, ten rapid questions each covering industry frustrations, opinions, and lighter moments that anyone working in construction will recognise.

This episode is honest, unscripted, and very much rooted in real experience.

If you work in Design & Build, construction, or the wider property sector, this one will feel familiar and probably spark a few strong opinions of your own.

Steve Kerslake is the founder of Construction Sport and one of the leading voices fighting to improve mental health across the construction industry.

Before launching Construction Sport, Steve worked on the tools and experienced first-hand the pressures, the culture, and the hidden struggles happening every day on building sites. His own journey includes major personal challenges from a life-changing acid attack to serious health issues that pushed him to breaking point and it shaped his mission to support those who feel they have nowhere to turn.

In this episode, Steve opens up about the realities behind the UK’s construction suicide crisis why it’s happening, what’s being missed, and the cultural issues that continue to put workers at risk. He also shares why he launched Construction Sport and how the organisation is now helping vulnerable people across the industry.

We explore:

• Why suicide rates in construction remain the highest of any UK sector
• The pressures, behaviours, and cultural norms that often go unnoticed
• Steve’s own journey through trauma and how it shaped his purpose
• Why the industry’s current systems aren’t enough to protect workers
• What construction companies can do to create safer, stronger environments
• How Construction Sport is providing support where traditional routes fail

This is one of the most honest and emotional conversations ever recorded on the podcast and an important one for anyone working in construction, managing teams, or trying to create positive change in the industry.