●Case study · Hands-off portfolio · 7 min read
Future-proofing a business, one property at a time.
Marketing agency owner, North East
10.5%
Return on cash employed for the client
£5,535
Net rental income across the portfolio, year one
3 properties
Acquired, refurbished, and tenanted by WPG
A North East marketing agency owner came to us with a healthy business and a thinly diversified personal balance sheet. Most of the wealth was tied up in the agency, and the agency was tied up in the people who ran it. They wanted a second income stream that did not depend on selling more hours, and a financial buffer that meant a soft quarter at the agency was a question of margin rather than mortgage.
What the client wanted
Diversification away from a single revenue line. A buffer against the inevitable agency dry spells. And an asset base that grew quietly in the background while the operator did what they were already good at, which is run the agency.
Hands-off was non-negotiable. A second job was the last thing the client needed.
What we ran for them
Three properties acquired across the North East over a phased timeline. Each one bought through our direct-to-vendor pipeline, refurbished against a fixed budget by trades we already work with, and handed to a letting agent on completion. The client never spoke to a builder or a tenant.
If I could sum up the experience in two words it would be stress free. This is what I was looking for. An investment opportunity where I did not need to worry about or deal with a thing.
The properties (3)
North East
6 Blind Lane
First acquisition. Set the operating relationship that carried the next two purchases through cleanly.
North East
13 Blossom Grove
Family-let stock acquired in the second wave. Refurb came in on budget, tenanted within weeks of completion.
Houghton
127 Durham Road
Larger refurbishment scope. Held up against the original underwrite and added the strongest single income line in the portfolio.
Portfolio breakdown
- Approach
- Buy, refurbish, refinance
- Properties acquired
- 3
- Region
- North East
- Net rental income, year one
- £5,535
- Return on cash employed
- 10.5%
- Status
- Tenanted, ongoing
The result
Three properties acquired inside the planned timeline. Year-one net rental income across the portfolio came in at £5,535, a return on cash employed of 10.5% for the client.
More important than the headline number: the agency carried on as the agency, and a second income line started showing up in the personal account without any added management load.
What happens next
The client is reinvesting agency profits into a fourth acquisition. The longer plan is a portfolio that covers the operator's core household expenditure inside five years, so the agency becomes a growth lever rather than a survival lever.
Got a business and not enough hours in the day?
Portfolio building is consultation-only. We work with a small number of clients each year, mostly business owners with capital to deploy and no time to manage the refurb themselves.
The information on this page is provided for general guidance only. It is not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Whittaker Property Group is an estate agent and property services business, not a regulated financial adviser. You should take independent professional advice before making any investment or financial decision.