North West architect launches Italian joint venture

An architect based in Liverpool and Manchester has struck a joint venture with an Italian builder.

Adam Hall, managing partner of Falconer Chester Hall, partnered up with Mauro Rieti to establish Unique Marche – a new brand focusing on restoring farmhouses and country mansions.

The two decided to collaborate after working together on restoring a historic property in Italy’s Le Marche region.

Adam said: “The value for money here is remarkable – especially given that it’s next door to Tuscany. You can buy a 3,000 sq ft dilapidated farmhouse set on more than half an acre for around £75k.

“We’ll then design the refurbishment and the pool and terraces and manage the whole build in a single package.”

Adam and Mauro are now buying abandoned properties and refurbishing them using local stone and materials.

Unique Marche currently has eight properties on its books and is targeting North West second home buyers.

Mauro commented: “We have so many of these lovely buildings abandoned because youngsters have moved to the city and there’s been no-one to keep them going.

“But we still have the craft skills to refurbish them in to beautiful holiday homes, just with very modern underpinnings and technology.”

The houses are re-built, Unique Marche said, using state-of-the-art engineering to deal with the occasional earth tremors in the area, along with ground source heating and smartphone-controlled monitoring and management systems.