For those painfully repaying their graduate loans and credit cards each month, wondering where exactly those thousands of pounds went – though one brief glance at their gut would probably give a good indicator – Sean O’Connor’s story may well make painful reading.
Because, unlike many thirty-somethings, guarding foggy memories of their post university ‘gap’ years spent on a beach in Thailand, 30 year-old property developer, Sean, invested his £12,000 graduate loan in property.
And this year he’s come in at number six on the Young Rich List – a virtual unknown coming ahead of a host of household names including Cheryl Cole, Charlotte Church and Keira Knightly.
Estimated to be worth around £33million, Sean’s new entry comes in as one of only a handful of property entrepreneurs to make it onto a list dominated by films, music and the internet as the sources of wealth.
The young entrepreneur, who now runs the hugely successful carbon trading company, Clean Energy Capital PLC, began trading property as soon as he graduated and already had a portfolio of 40 homes by 2007.
He admits it was his property portfolio that got him where he is today. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “I couldn’t have achieved this without cutting my teeth on property.
“When I was trading apartments in Manchester and Leeds I met a lot of high net-worth individuals and when that market collapsed they were looking for the next opportunity as I was.
“In a way, what I do now is similar – it's a bit like buying land and getting planning permission to increase its value. Together with wealthy investors we invest in green technology and pay to install it into companies who need to save energy costs to meet their carbon targets.
“We then take a share of the extra carbon credits they receive and sell them on.”
A far cry from his assets today, worth £4.2m, Sean’s path to success began with a three-bedroom home in Gateshead. Having secured the home with his £12,000 graduate loan, Sean remortgaged it the following year and borrowed £20,000 to pay for the deposits on four more apartments – not yet built. By selling the off-plan flats the following year, a £15,000 profit was made.
The young entrepreneur continued to buy and sell off-plan apartments in Manchester and Leeds until switching to buy-to-let and by 2007 had amassed 40 houses worth £6m.
However, the collapse of the housing market meant a change of tact was needed, and he moved into carbon trading.
“I started an environmental website for people saving energy,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I quickly realised that everyone needed a financial incentive and I also came across a range of fledgling companies with good ideas for creating green energy that needed finance.”
And now Clean Energy Capital PLC is turning over £100m a year. Perhaps Sean will choose to spend the latter years of his life on a beach somewhere instead...
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