From a very young age I was always interested in buildings and particularly older buildings. I spent most of my childhood drawing and designing houses and often built them out of Lego. I wanted to be an architect but after doing some work experience, I realised that this required a more technical mind. I chose to study art, history and English for A-level and not knowing what I wanted to do as a career, decided to do a history degree.
Originally from North Lincolnshire I came to Reading University for my studies. I wanted to experience living in the South of England and liked the campus at Reading. When it came to finding private accommodation at the end of my first year with a group of friends, I was shocked by what was on offer – damp and dingy houses with very dated interiors! The parents of a friend of mine had decided to buy a property for him to live in with his friends as an investment and this gave me the idea of trying to buy a house rather than renting. I was fortunate in that my grandfather had given me some money which was enough for a deposit so in 1993 I bought my first house at the age of 19.
My brother was at Nottingham University and he also bought a property at the end of his first year. After graduating in 1997 and starting my first job I bought a second property in Reading jointly with my brother and this was the start of our partnership and the birth of Turner Property.