The Problem We Were Built On
Why property deals fall through. And how to see it coming.
A third of agreed sales never complete. Almost none of them die over price. They die in silence, in the weeks nobody was watching the chain.
1 in 3
Agreed UK sales that collapse before completion
£1B
Lost across the UK market every year to fall throughs
125 days
Average time from sale agreed to exchange
55%
Of a negotiator day now spent chasing the chain
Where Chains Actually Break
The break you never see coming.
The solicitor goes silent
A conveyancer stops replying for nine days and nobody notices until the buyer calls to ask why nothing has moved. By then the trust is already cracked.
The mortgage offer drifts to expiry
Offers are dated. A long chain eats the calendar, the offer lapses, and the whole structure has to be rebuilt from a worse starting position.
The local authority search sits in a queue
A search in Camden averages 47 days. For weeks the deal looks alive while it quietly waits on a desk no agent can see.
A party further down the chain pulls out
One buyer four links away changes their mind and the collapse travels up the chain to a deal that did nothing wrong.
Why Prime Central London Suffers Most
The longest chains. The highest stakes.
A Prime Central London chain can run six to twelve months. That is far longer than the national average of 125 days from agreed to exchange. Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington run on long timelines, high net worth international buyers, and more parties than anywhere else in the country. Every extra month and every extra party is another place a deal can die unwatched.
The values make it brutal. These are the most expensive homes on earth, so a single collapse erases a six figure commission that was already earned. Negotiators now spend 55% of the working day chasing the chain, up from 44% in 2023. The most expensive people in the business have become phone operators for deals that still slip away.
How To See It Coming
One of your deals is about to fall through. We know which one.
Alunio is the AI deal progression engine for Prime Central London. It scores every chain for breakdown risk, flags the deal about to slip, and drafts the chase to the party holding it up, ready to send in one click. Read why we built it or apply for one of three founding seats.
Request AccessCommon questions
What percentage of property sales fall through in the UK?
Close to one in three sales agreed in the United Kingdom collapses before completion. The market loses near a billion pounds a year to deals that died after everyone had already shaken hands.
Why do property chains break?
Chains rarely break over price. They break over silence. A solicitor goes quiet. A mortgage offer drifts toward expiry. A local authority search sits in a queue for weeks. Each stall is invisible until the deal is already lost.
Why is Prime Central London worse for fall throughs?
Prime Central London chains run six to twelve months, far longer than the national average of 125 days from agreed to exchange. Longer timelines mean more parties, more handoffs, and more places for a deal to die unwatched. The values are also the highest on earth, so a single collapse erases a six figure commission.
How do you stop a sale from falling through?
You watch every party in every chain, every day, and you act on the first sign of a stall instead of the last. Alunio scores every chain for breakdown risk and drafts the chase to the party holding it up, ready to send in one click.