A franchise offering a better quality of life
After 30 years building an impressive corporate career in the IT world, Paul Cronin felt the urge to get out of the rat race and run his own business. His career culminated in the role of VP of Sales for a telecommunications software company. With his three children now young adults, Paul began to reassess his options. Paul and his wife Linda decided they wanted a business they could run together and, having already invested in property during the boom years, it presented an attractive option.
Paul explains their thinking at the time saying; “When we first ventured into the world of property investment, the benefits were fairly intangible. Buying and selling was risky because we were assuming there would be short term captial growth. Before setting out on our own again, we recognised that we needed a more certain return on investment in respect to both our time and money.
“We were struggling to choose between six excellent franchises, until I realised that Platinum Property Partners had two features that set it apart. Firstly, the other franchises required continuous selling - fail to sell sufficiently and the business fails to exist – PPP offers the attraction of passive income after some initial hard work, without the sales slog I was trying to get away from. Secondly, where most other franchises leave you with just good will, with PPP we are accumulating tangible, appreciating assets in bricks and mortar. These were the key reasons we selected PPP.”
Paul and Linda joined the PPP franchise in April 2010, through which they are building a highly cash-positive property portfolio. They now have four HMOs up and running, a fifth in refurbishment and a sixth in the pipeline. The four properties produce nearly £70,000 annual operating profit. That’s after paying all costs including mortgage, bills and maintenance and allowing for voids and PPP’s management service fees.
“A large part of our decision to join PPP was down to the integrity of Steve Bolton and quality of the network – both professional advisors and the other Franchise Partners” says Paul. “We are now working with some truly great people who approach life with a very giving attitude and a philosophy of sharing their time and skills freely. The focus is on achieving financial freedom and thus being able to choose how and with whom we spend our time. Being part of such a community has already had an incredibly positive impact on our lives. Linda and I are enjoying more time together while giving something back; we’ve found a way to address the balance between input and return and are enjoying all the personal and financial rewards of running our own business.”
Paul and Linda observed the pressures associated with sales-dominated franchises, which can shatter attempts at a profitable work-life balance and leave you with little to show for your efforts. PPP offer a different solution to standard franchise options, one which is not dependent on trading your time for money, but offers a valuable and tangible asset base as well as a regular income.
Total Portfolio Value: circa £1.6 million
Annual Rental Income: £143,935
Annual Operating Profit: £69,996