JOINED PLATINUM
PROPERTY PARTNER
January 2017
PREVIOUS
CAREER
International gym franchisor
PORTFOLIO
LOCATION
Cheltenham
NUMBER OF
HMOS
2
BIGGEST
BENEFIT
UK based income
From passive to active
Like any other Franchise Partner, Simon attended a Discovery Day and a one-to-one Director’s Meeting to understand how it could work for him. After determining his investment location – Cheltenham – he met with fellow Franchise Partner, Mike Dixon, who would actively build his property portfolio for him.
Simon added: “Mike is very easy going and we got on immediately. You could also see straight away how knowledgeable he was and that he would have no problem helping me get a successful property business up and running.”
The preparations for purchase mentoring were done via Skype and then Simon returned to the UK to attend the viewings and put in an offer. As it turned out, two properties were sale agreed within weeks and this is where Simon’s hands-on involvement ended. He still made all the decisions, but without any of the time investment.
While he was working overseas and managing his other businesses, his property investment business was gaining momentum in preparation for his return to the UK and still generating upwards of 8% returns after project and ongoing management fees.
“There are a lot of dodgy businesses promising to double your money and promoting underhand tactics, but I never felt that with PPP,” said Simon. “When I saw that years after my initial enquiry, PPP was still going strong and giving great returns, it only added to their credibility. As soon as I found out there was an opportunity for me to join, I jumped at it.”
Changing direction
On his return to the UK in the summer of 2018, Simon took over the reigns of the business and attended all of the training he would have done if he were active from day one. This included the two-day bootcamp and Foundations Lettings & Marketing Course to help him manage his two Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), which were home to 15 tenants in total.
He also engrossed himself in the Platinum community, attending national and regional workshops and also a specialist commercial mastermind course, which surprisingly changed his goals.
“Once I’d integrated into the network, it became invaluable,” Simon commented. “Building friendships and partnerships with like-minded people inspired me to do much more than HMOs. I’d also realised since taking over the management of my properties that the operational side of things wasn’t my forte so I handed it over to another Franchise Partner so I could focus on making the deals.”
Flexible future
Simon is now concentrating on evaluating investment opportunities for the future to complement his HMO portfolio. He is considering additional HMO investments alongside mixed-use developments and commercial deals using the new skills gained from the PPP course.
Simon concluded: “The great thing about Platinum is there are always options. I will have the passive investment I want, but I can also be as active as I want and play to my strengths. I would never have had the time or knowledge to build this business alone and now it’s taking me in all sorts of exciting directions.”
