Looking for a franchise to run alongside his successful sales career, Andrew Borrill chose Platinum Property Partners
After 22 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 he was constantly travelling around the country, giving him little time to spend with his wife and stepson.
Doubts
———
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, which 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 in The Sunday Times prompted Andrew to get in touch with PPP 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 do that I could initially run alongside my day job as a part-time opportunity until I was confident the income I needed was there and gave 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 while waiting for trains and on the move,” laughs Andrew - the decision made itself.
“I saw how people younger than me had achieved financial freedom and built up credible and profitable businesses in a relatively short period of time, simply by following the PPP methodology to the letter,” he says. “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. That was enough for me.”
Joining the PPP franchise in 2010, Andrew’s first decision was his area of operation. Unusually, rather than investing in his local area and after more careful research, he decided to buy properties in Lincoln. As Andrew explains: “I was brought up in Lincoln, therefore I know the area really well. Not only that, but I had evaluated the property market in other areas of the UK and believed I could get far more for my money in and around Lincoln than I could anywhere else.
“Finally, I have family in the area who had agreed to assist me with the management and maintenance of any properties I purchased, so even though my portfolio is 160 miles away from where I live, I have people on-hand that I can trust.”
Within six months Andrew had purchased and refurbished two properties, which he quickly fully let. Having clearly tapped into an area of high demand, he had proved to himself that the strategy was the right one. Following PPP’s proven systems, further investment into a third property again proved successful and within a few weeks of finishing the refurbishment that too was let.
Profit
———
By following PPP’s business model, Andrew achieves an annual operating profit of over £47,000 from his three properties. With his portfolio currently valued at over £650,000, he plans to expand the number of his properties to six by the end of 2012, meaning he should soon meet his personal target of £90,000 a year net profit.
What does Andrew feel is the most valuable lesson he’s learned? “Always listen to the experts and surround yourself with specialist knowledge,” he says. “You may think you can build a profitable property portfolio yourself, and PPP does 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.
“I attribute my success to the fact that I had the support of the PPP team, which gave me the right start. Without PPP I would not have achieved the exceptional results I’ve managed in such a short time.”
But it’s not just Andrew’s finances that are looking healthier since he joined PPP. Now he has the time to explore other interests, Andrew has discovered a love of cycling, which saw him race from Land’s End to Twickenham last year in aid of Help for Heroes.
So has PPP delivered what Andrew previously thought was impossible - a great work-life balance and financial freedom? “Yes - absolutely,” he says.
