THE dream of making a killing in the property market is commonplace these days, and yet for most property investors it remains just that. Not for Paul Roshan. At the tender age of 33, this half-Iranian, half-British property developer has built the beginnings of a formidable empire, a portfolio of some 25 properties spread across Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge. And Roshan is nothing if not ambitious. His aim, he says, is to do in rental property what Candy & Candy has done in sales. “We want to build up our name as having the best rental properties in London.” Some day he would also quite like to buy West Ham United Football Club. But that’s one for the future. In the meantime he is focusing on creating lavish, hotel-quality apartments for London’s most affluent tenants.

Roshan has come a long way in a very short space of time. Fifteen years ago he was selling paintings in Bermondsey Market, making roughly £200 a week. His parents gave him £10,000 to put down as a deposit on his first property. “I bought a shell in Tooting for £90,000,” he says. “I gradually refurbished it over the next few years, using the money I was making at the market.” Three years later he sold the property for £180,000. He reinvested his money in another rundown property, refurbished it, sold it on — and continued in this fashion for the next few years. To earn extra money, and to gain valuable experience, he worked as project manager for an uncle who was renovating family homes in Wandsworth.

By the age of 25, Roshan was ready to go it alone. Having started out purchasing just one property a year, he became much more active, at first making about four or five purchases a year. These days he can buy as many as 20 properties in a single year. He maintains a narrow geographical focus — the “golden triangle” of Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge — and is aiming at the very top end of the market by refurbishing properties to a high standard.

“The thing is to create a place that everybody wants,” Roshan says. “Affluent people are used to the best, so that is what you have to provide. You need to have the finest marble, the best wood and joinery; that kind of thing is very important. Underfloor heating is essential too — no one wants radiators any more.” Decorations and furnishings are lavish: these are not homes for minimalists. Hallways are adorned with enormous glass chandeliers, floors are Italian marble, the furnishings are leather and suede. Fittings in the bathroom come from Alessi or Philippe Starck, kitchens have the latest Siemens appliances. Coffee makers and champagne fridges come as standard, as do all the very latest toys for the boys, from pop-up plasma screens at the foot of the bed to I-merge CD systems and Sky+.

One of Roshan’s latest projects is 33 Lowndes Square, a sumptuously decorated three-bedroom (3,050 sq ft) apartment within strolling distance of Harrods and Harvey Nichols — and with volumes of wardrobe space in which to store your purchases. Valued at £5.5 million, the property is available to let for £6,500 a week and is a typical example of the kind of property Roshan’s company, R&A Developments, offers.

Unlike Candy & Candy, Roshan’s investment strategy is to buy and hold rather than to buy and sell, and so he has accumulated a portfolio worth about £70 million. He admits that expanding that portfolio in the current market is tricky. “It’s very difficult at the moment. Everything is very expensive. But you will always find an agent who is selling a property and who really doesn’t have a clue on the price — so you can always pick a few properties up. But to create the margin you want, you have to set the market, and that’s what we do.”

Getting the margins right is, of course, also a function of getting the money right, and securing financing at this level is quite a different matter from obtaining an ordinary buy-to-let mortgage. Jonathan Harris, Roshan’s broker at Savills Private Finance, has worked closely with him for the past five years, handling his development and investment finance. “There are only a handful of lenders who will take on this level of refinancing, such as Bank of Scotland Corporate Bank, Citigroup, Kaupthing Singer & Friendlander and Barclays International,” Harris says. “I have close relationships with these banks, which is crucial when it comes to getting the terms that Paul requires.”

Development finance is secured to enable Roshan to carry out the necessary refurbishment of the property. “At this level, banks tend to lend up to 85 per cent of purchase prices, plus the cost of developing the property,” Harris explains. “Once the project has been completed, we refinance at up to 80 per cent of the end value. The reason for refinancing so quickly is to obtain a cheaper rate of interest than on the development finance, as well as releasing cash to pay the initial lender’s fee.” To keep the cost of refurbishment down, Roshan has four different building teams, which he prices against each to get the best value.

Roshan attributes his success over a relatively short period to knowing his market inside out. “We know what people want,” he says. “We know that they want every single luxury.

People who are renting at this level want to be treated as they would be in a luxury hotel, only better.” But he warns prospective property developers — particularly those attracted by the idea of making a lot of money very quickly — that this is not a job for everyone. “There is a lot of stress,” he says. “Every day you’re dealing with problems: people not turning up on time, people not turning up at all — it’s not like a normal nine-to-five job. This is something where you don’t know how much money you’re going to make at the end of if, and you’re in a situation where the property market could crash, so you’re taking on a lot of risk.” But the rewards, he concedes, “are very good”.

R&A Developments, www.radevelopments.co.uk; Savills Private Finance, 0870 9007762

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