Who we are

We are a specialist heritage advisory practice focused on listed buildings, conservation areas and other historic property. We provide carefully scoped, fixed‑fee heritage statements and tailored advice, so straightforward cases are handled efficiently and sensitive projects get the extra attention they need.

Recept is led by Peter Clarke, whose background combines senior commercial and residential real‑estate experience with hands‑on involvement in complex historic‑building projects and the practical realities of financing, delivering and operating them. He was also an early adopter of large language models for machine reading of commercial leases, years before AI entered mainstream discussion, which now helps him use new tools carefully and critically in heritage work.

Peter has spent much of his career in UK real estate, working at senior level across corporate finance, asset management, development and construction‑related issues. Over the years he has dealt with most of the problems that arise on real projects, from financing and joint ventures to construction disputes, project management and property operations.

He acted as development manager on the conversion of what is now L’Oscar London, an at‑risk Grade II* listed building and former Methodist Church headquarters, into a luxury hotel. He was responsible for helping to steer a scheme and its professional team and contractors, to preserve and remediate significant historic fabric while fitting a demanding modern hotel into an old office building and an octagonal chapel.

Peter and his wife own, and live in a listed building. That combination of professional and personal experience means he understands both the formal heritage framework and the practical concerns of owners, purchasers and architects who need to make sensible decisions about sensitive buildings.

This background shapes the way Recept Heritage works. Heritage advice is always grounded in a clear understanding of significance and policy, but it is also tested against the realities of design, finance, construction and use. The aim is to help clients understand what really matters in heritage terms, what level of work is proportionate, and how that fits into the wider decisions they need to take