JOINED PLATINUM PROPERTY PARTNERS

2023

PREVIOUS CAREERS

Global Pharmaceuticals, Events and Property

PORTFOLIO LOCATION

Bristol & Redhill

NUMBER OF HMOs

4

BIGGEST BENEFIT

Support to build at speed, in business for themselves but not by themselves, inheritance for children

The need for speed

Having led very fast-paced lives, travelling around the world with their five children for Paul’s work as a senior leader of a major pharmaceutical company, Charlotte and Paul wanted to slow down and settle back in the UK.

When it came to securing their financial future, however, speed was of the essence. With experience renting out and managing their own properties in the UK, Canada and Dubai, Charlotte and Paul were confident that property investment was the way forward – and they wanted to do it quickly and become hands-off as soon as possible.

“We knew we didn’t want to take on a retail business,” says Paul. “Both of us had been crazy busy for decades and wanted to generate an income but also to have more time for ourselves. So, knowing we didn’t want to be fixing toilets and finding tenants we decided to have property managers from the start.”

An early introduction

Although Charlotte and Paul’s journey with Platinum Property Partners (PPP) didn’t officially begin until April 2023, the couple had known about the franchise model for some time.

While living in Dubai, Paul read an article about Cathy Colston and how she had replaced her corporate income through HMO investment with PPP. Intrigued by the concept of buying and renovating homes for professionals, they reached out to Cathy and stayed in touch.

Charlotte explains: “Property has a bit of a bad reputation as a high yielding investment strategy, but Cathy really vouched for the model. When renting out our own properties, our philosophy has been to deliver high quality and good service. We have never wanted to be the kind of landlords that take the money and run; so our values were aligned.”

After returning to the UK, Paul and Charlotte attended a Discovery Day in Heathrow, where they were struck by the transparency and support within the PPP community.

“Everyone was so proud of their houses, totally open about their returns and profit margins, and honest about the challenges,” recalls Charlotte. This convinced them that joining PPP was the right decision.

A fast-track approach

Despite joining PPP just over a year ago, Charlotte and Paul have rapidly expanded their property portfolio. Leveraging the capital from the sale of properties in Dubai and Canada, they quickly acquired and refurbished four HMOs.

During their purchase mentoring with Mike Dixon, they not only went sale agreed on two properties, but Mike also brokered a deal to purchase one of Cathy’s existing HMO properties. Shortly afterwards, with Mike’s help, they purchased another Franchise Partner’s six-bedroom HMO in Surrey.

“Knowing that PPP properties were high-end and well-managed carried a lot of weight,” comments Paul. “This gave us the confidence to kick-start the portfolio growth by buying two existing properties whilst also going through two back to brick conversions.”

Within a year, the pair have successfully built a portfolio comprising four properties with 29 rooms. One property they recently refurbished has just received planning permission to become a nine-bedroom HMO. They are also about to start a new build, a single-tenancy three-bedroom buy-to-let, on a build plot at the house they bought from Cathy.

The plan is to have at least 50 rooms in the short-term before deciding on further expansion.

“Our plans are changing all the time,” explains Paul. “We definitely want to have 50 rooms, but I am also excited at the prospect of expanding to 100 rooms, which will require significant debt leverage, but also give us a substantial scale.”

“Going from a 33-year corporate career to starting a business alone can be very isolating. But joining PPP is the best of both worlds. With regular regional and national meetings, lots of social events to look forward to and someone always available to lend a helping hand, it really is a special community of like-minded and supportive people.”

The Copelands

Moulding the model

Whilst immediate income is important, Paul and Charlotte also want to concentrate on the long-term capital growth of the portfolio.

“It was never our plan to be working in the business every day because we wanted to achieve time freedom,” says Charlotte. “Although the project management of the refurbishments and getting the properties ready to rent is very intense, we’ve still had time for holidays and to enjoy life. All our property management is outsourced to a reputable and recommended company and a fabulous Franchise Partner.”

The portfolio currently generates high single digit net yield (pre-tax) and together with the prospect of long-term capital growth, the couple are more than happy with this.

Paul adds; “For us, this is a long-term investment strategy that delivers income whilst building a low touch business that we can hand over to our children. We have focused on attractive properties in good locations that should achieve good capital gain over time.”

Structured support for strategic growth

Although Charlotte and Paul were experienced in property investment and rental legislation, both in the UK and overseas, they had no intention of navigating the complexities of HMOs alone.

“Having been in a situation where I had negotiated my way around property laws in several countries, as a tenant and also a landlord, I knew it was a minefield,” admits Charlotte. “We could have trawled through thousands of articles and documents and maybe done it ourselves, but we were in the fortunate position of already knowing what we didn’t know, and we knew we needed support.”

From day one, Paul and Charlotte have been amazed at the level of support and guidance provided by PPP, its team of mentors, other Franchise Partners and the Power Team.

“The support has been brilliant from the start” says Charlotte. “From buying the houses with Mike, to refurbish mentoring with Kim, and design mentoring with Katie. Without PPP, we wouldn’t have slept, and would likely have got stuck on just one house.”

Paul adds: “Access to recommended experts like Paul Underwood and Stephen Abenson has been invaluable too and enabled us to discuss not only the smooth running of the business today, but how we can involve our kids over time and provide an inheritance through a working business.”

Best of both worlds

One of the most unexpected benefits of joining PPP, however, has been the community.

Paul concludes: “Going from a 33-year corporate career to starting a business alone can be very isolating. But joining PPP is the best of both worlds. With regular regional and national meetings, lots of social events to look forward to and someone always available to lend a helping hand, it really is a special community of like-minded and supportive people.”

Franchise partner stories

Our Franchise Partners come from all walks of life. Some have a lot of property experience and others have very little, or none. But all of them are now enjoying the income and freedom that come from partnering with Platinum.

Julia and Phil

James & Harry

Linda and Damian

Mark and Sue Davies

Stephan van Niekerk

Valerie Highton

Dominic Hegan

Laoise Davidson

Paul & Fred

Simon Clarke

Kelly & Simon

Robin & Maxine

Nick & Gré

Ben Gould