Aged just seventeen, Sanmi Adegoke tells me that after leaving college  his first job was working in a McDonalds fast food outlet and that the experience proved invaluable in his growth as a property entrepreneur. Given that Sanmi was recently adjudged Property Developer of the Year, his words are well worth noting.

“All of your readers will be well aware just how successful a business McDonalds is but some may not be aware that it is more of a real estate business. That experience was the beginning of my property ‘journey’ in the late 1990’s and I also recall being impressed at the time with what was occurring at Canary Wharf in East London, with the massive urban regeneration project well underway there. I was fascinated to see what was taking shape and wanted to learn more about large-scale property development and investment.”

Many people dream about creating wealth from property but have a lack the resources to start, and at the beginning Sanmi explained that he had to create his starter capital in order to get on the property ladder.

“I was well aware that I needed to accumulate money and so I set up a business selling cars. I bought at auctions in the regions, in places like Manchester, and then sold them to London buyers. This took place while I was studying for a university degree in 2005 and I then met someone in Knightsbridge who was into property and he advised me to get the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book written by Robert Kyosaki.

“That purchase for me was a ‘light bulb’ moment as it really opened my mind to what I could achieve with income producing property assets. From reading it I gained an understanding of basic financial literacy and it literally was a school book which helped me to navigate a away ahead through property investment.”