Building
I enjoyed sports. I played football for school and captained the local cricket team and played on board number 1 for the school chess team but my passion was motorcycle racing and car rallying. I could rebuild a motorcycle engine when I was 16 and by the time I was 19 I had bought and sold 13 motorbikes, the first costing just £10 and others mainly funded from part time work and from renovation and selling.
I helped my Dad renovate our family home and build an extension working long hours which seemed so normal and I also worked part time for various other builders who were impressed with my spade wielding, hole digging skills… We lived in the countryside and whilst other teenagers were going out, I worked hard and rode motorbikes, fast! I was strong, lived on the edge and was very capable at making things but lacked self-confidence at school as I spent all my money on motorbikes and not clothes or going out and so I didn’t fit in.
I took my enthusiasm for building work and undertook a property surveying degree at Nottingham Trent University. I also had a go at motorcycle circuit racing although success was more measured by my ability to finish with bike intact.
Following my degree I worked for 13 years for a pub company as a Chartered Surveyor, ultimately heading up the property department that managed over 1300 properties throughout the UK worth over £1.3bn.
In 2013 I opened an Estate Agents in Lancaster (www.mightyhouse.co.uk) alongside a student letting agency (www.mightystudentliving.co.uk). We are now the largest student letting agency in Lancaster. We open our 3rd office Estate Agents office early in 2022. We also acquired a commercial property agency in 2018 (www.fwcommercial.co.uk) and continue to grow.
In 2017 I set up a turn key investment model for investors looking to buy properties where we renovate and extend them to add value to create improved income yields. Between 2018 and 2021 we have added over 300 bathrooms to student properties for our clients.
In 2019 I opened a licensed bar (www.cappuvino.co.uk). An ambition since working for a pub company. I wouldn’t do it again in a hurry but I do enjoy the challenge. We won an award last year from Trip Advisor as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world.