"Is the consortium so hard up they can't even afford a couple of...

"Is the consortium so hard up they can't even afford a couple of mil for the land?"

A startup project trading cost for equity ... well I never

Swapping land for equity has the value-add of drawing a key stakeholder in to now having skin in the game. That's a pretty solid outcome all round. I must confess to having my doubts about this venture, but it looks like these guys are going to give it their best shot.