Uni drop-out twins are building great careers
BROTHERS CONSTRUCT A £12M HOMES PORTFOLIO
TWO university dropouts decided they wanted to get stuck into the world of property development 10 years ago - and have now built a £12m portfolio.
Twins Tom and Jack Atha always had a passion for property and were soon set on developing a skillset they could build upon.
Today, their portfolio stands at £12m but the Middlesbroughborn twins admit they have made plenty of mistakes along the way.
They said they learnt how to “fail fast” which enabled them to rise quickly.
They have now found their niche in the student accommodation sector after initially renovating town houses and building luxury homes in Teesside.
Before that, they were working as labourers on a site in Stokesley.
Tom said: “We knew if we wanted to make it in this industry we’d need to get our hands dirty and learn as much about all of the construction trades as possible. So that’s what we did!
“We started off in 2010 living in a caravan on a friend’s construction site and worked as labourers for their tradesmen.
“It’s safe to say it was a bit of a culture shock for two lads who didn’t know what end of a hammer to hold but we were determined to succeed so we got on with it learnt the basics of turning an outbuilding into a house.
“That was our first step on the property ladder and it was up to us to carve out a business from there.”
Once their first project was complete, the twins decided to take on their first solo challenge in the construction industry.
In 2011 they received a £70k family investment to buy a townhouse in Middlesbrough.
They completed the renovation and it eventually became their first buy-to-let property.
However, their first task taught them valuable lessons - including how to correctly change a stop tap as they soon found out it would lead to them flooding their first property investment.
Multiple townhouse investments, a Victorian property refurbishment into student accommodation and two luxury residential builds in Teesside soon followed.
Now they have added their flagship student accommodation block St James Studios in Middlesbrough,
which was completed and fully occupied by September 2018.
They are moving into the final stages of another large-scale student accommodation development named Dorman House, comprising another 55 apartments on Linthorpe Road. It will be completed later this year.
Jack said: “It’s taken years of trial and error and also a great deal of graft to get to this point.
“We’re big believers in helping the local community and we know property development is an area of high interest for lots of people.
“If anyone wanted to ask us more details about our journey or any advice on investments/developments we’re always happy to help!
“We’re grateful to have had a helping hand in the early days by securing family investment.
“If we can help others in any way at all we’d love to offer that helping hand in return.”