The Collins Bone Partnership
Liam the Entrepreneur
by Davey Bone.
I’ve known Liam all my life and he is without a doubt one of the most intriguing and hard working characters you will ever meet. A family man through and through.
I am delighted that we forged the strong friendship we did one summer when I helped him out with some street shows. Dancing on the streets to Michael Jackson songs, little did we know 6 years later we would be guests on “The Richard and Judy” show talking about buying Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch!
But that’s Liam. It’s always a case of ‘fasten your seatbelts’!
Liam had always known he was not going to work for someone else all his life and was itching to start a successful business. He'd proven that he had the determination to achieve, and felt sure he could make a property business work. He understood what students wanted and was amazed at how few landlords were trying to give a top quality service.
In early 2002, Liam bought his first terraced student house in Loughborough. In those heady days, 85% LTV Buy to Let mortgages were fairly easy to obtain, and most banks and building societies were willing to lend.
Liam soon realised that by buying cheaply and renovating to a high standard he could ask higher rents from fellow student tenants. What also became apparent fairly quickly was that he could go back to the lender and ask for the property to be revalued after the improvement work. This enabled him to take a further advance, which could then be used to fund the purchase of the next property. By the time he was 26; he had managed to build a sizeable portfolio but was struggling to handle all aspects.
This is where I came in. I was in Manchester doing a similar model to Liam and it made sense to join forces, so the Collins & Bone partnership was born.
Profiles by Toby Guise at Deliberate PR
About Liam Collins, Founder-Director,
Liam Collins, 30, is a former British Number 1 in under-23 110m hurdles and Junior 110m Hurdles, as well as reaching the top 3 in British Decathlon trials for the World Athletics Championships. He trained for both the Athens and Beijing Olympics, buying his first student house in 2001 as a means of living and supporting his athletics training at Loughborough University. Further money was raised – including the cost of a visa to the USA – via the satirical street dance act Faces of Disco. Having been spotted in the street by senior executives at Ladbrokes, Liam was tracked down and offered a sponsorship deal to complete Decathlon training in the USA.
About David Bone, Founder-Director
David Bone, 27, co-founder of the Collins & Bone Parnership, bought his first house at the age of 19 while studying Sports and Psychology at Liverpool University. He continued building his student-housing portfolio during and after his degree. At one point using street entertainment to raise money for renovations. On graduating in 2004, he launched his first operational business – a chain of tanning salons in Manchester. But his housing portfolio continued to grow, leading to the appointment of a separate management for his tanning business.
In 2003, he formed the partnership alongside his first cousin Liam Collins, taking responsibility for the renovations and quality control side of the business. David Bone’s father – David Bone senior – joined the Collins & Bone Partnership as Chairman of the Board in 2007.
