premium Franchise in UK History. As of November 2012 we had 141 PPP Franchise Partners operating in 95 towns and cities around the UK. Through PPP, our Franchise Partners have purchased and now own over £65 million of UK property. All of this has been achieved in the last five years alone. Over the next five years we plan to grow to have more than 300 Franchise Partners in over 160 locations in the UK and should have purchased in excess of £250 million of UK property, which will accommodate more than 6,500 tenants. In the economic fallout that followed the tragic events of September 11th 2001, my businesses were all but wiped out. I was forced to sell my family home to avoid bankruptcy. I credit this period as being “the best worst experience of my life”. My wife Lucy was seven months pregnant at the time with our first baby. And I was in the process of closing down a business, selling our house and moving us into rented accommodation. Charlie was born in a rented house we were living in Poole, Dorset in March 2002, surrounded by unpacked removal boxes. Not the best circumstances to bring a new child into the world! However, I recovered very quickly and within six months I had an import and training business that was delivering me a six figure income. Running this business was a part-time activity for me, so I decided that I wanted to invest in property. After two years of intensive research and going loads of training courses in the USA and UK, I was ready to make my move. I decided to focus on a new strategy that I came across – the concept was letting new build houses to young working professionals. However, I found that this wasn’t possible where I lived, so I adapted the property to older style properties that I found actually worked better, as the room sizes were generally larger and the properties were also cheaper. Within three years I bought 20 properties, with a portfolio value of £6 million, in my home towns of Bournemouth and Poole in Dorset. By 2006 I was financially free – I had enough income coming in from property that meant I never need work again. I’ve never been one to rest on my laurels so in 2007, I franchised my business model under the trading name, Platinum Property Partners – www.platinumpropertypartners.co.uk. PPP has broken lots of records in franchising and is one of the most highly regarded Franchised brands in the UK today. On the charity side, I am President of the Patrons programme for Peace One Day (www.peaceoneday.org)