Felt he was seeking the impossible

After twenty-two years working for the same company, Andrew Borrill from Weybridge in Surrey decided to make 2010 the year for change. As the New Business Development Director for a leading national office supplies company Andrew frequently worked 70-hour weeks. His role meant that he was constantly travelling around the country giving him little time to spend with his wife and stepson.

Meeting business owners through the course of his job gave Andrew the idea of working for himself. But nagging doubts about whether he could build a profitable business on his own that would provide him with the level of income he required meant that Andrew needed to find the confidence, and the right opportunity, to take the next step.

An article about Platinum Property Partners appearing in the Sunday Times prompted Andrew to get in touch to understand more about how a franchise works and if it could be right for him. Andrew recalls, “I needed to find something I could initially run alongside my day job as a part-time opportunity until I was confident the income I needed was there, giving me the security to be able to walk away from my current position. I didn’t want the new venture to be a huge drain on my time either, so it felt that I was seeking the impossible.”

Following a PPP Discovery Day and copious amounts of due diligence and research (“I read everything I could lay my hands on whenever I had a spare moment, which meant I learned all I know now whilst waiting for trains and on the move!” laughs Andrew) the decision made itself. “I saw how people younger than me had achieved financial security and built up credible and profitable businesses in a relatively short period of time, simply by following the PPP methodology to the letter. I was able to speak to those Franchise Partners and ask them first-hand how they had done it, and they all explained that they had just followed PPP’s tried, tested and proven advice.”

Andrew joined PPP in 2010 and within six months had purchased and refurbished two properties, which he quickly fully let. Having clearly tapped into an area of high demand in Lincolnshire, Andrew proved to himself that the strategy was the right one.

Following PPP’s proven systems, further investment into a third property proved successful and within a few weeks’ of finishing the refurbishment that too was let. But what does Andrew feel is the most valuable lesson he’s learned? “Always listen to the experts and surround yourself with specialist knowledge. You may think that you can build a profitable property portfolio yourself, and PPP do make it look easy, but property is an expensive asset class and you can lose your shirt, and everything else, if you get it wrong.”

Total Portfolio Value: circa £650,000

Annual Rental Income: £102,000

Annual Operating Profit: £47,244