The military created my mindset. It taught me structure and the importance of choosing the right strategy and approach.
If you’re storming a building (as I did during my military career), you need to act strategically, taking every potential risk into account. What if there’s a hostage? What if there’s more resistance than anticipated?
As an investor or developer, you need this same strategic approach to risk. You need a clear plan for buying and exiting a project, along with preparations for both the known and unforeseen risks that could arise at any time.
In the last issue of Blue Bricks Magazine, my business, Swish Holiday Apartments, was featured, showcasing how my team and I are revolutionising the holiday let scene. This time, I’m sharing my personal journey from the military and bodyguarding to becoming a full-time property investor and multi-business owner. I’ll also explain how you can adopt a strategic military mindset to uncover highly profitable property deals that most investors miss.
From Blackpool to Iraq
I was born and bred in Blackpool, the same place where I invest today. Like many entrepreneurs, I struggled in school and didn’t do well in my GCSEs. Teachers regularly told me I’d never achieve anything. In a weird way, I enjoyed hearing that—it only spurred me on to work harder later in life and prove them wrong.
Other than rugby, boxing, and fitness, there wasn’t much I enjoyed. Directionless, I decided to sign up for the military, joining the army college when I was 16 years old.
I spent many years in the army, touring for over six years in Iraq and taking part in numerous operations in Afghanistan. My service covered the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. I’ve seen combat and faced countless life-threatening situations. But in the end, my time in service is what made me who I am today.
Adopting a Military Mindset
The military taught me structure, and it taught me to have high expectations. Everything—from your uniform to your weapons—had to be immaculate. Nothing less was acceptable.
At the same time, the military emphasised simplicity. Everything is basic but systematic, which is why UK forces are so efficient.
I’m thankful to the military for the lessons it taught me. In many ways, the exact principles outlined above translate perfectly into the world of property.You need structure in everything you do, from your daily routine to the way you analyse deals. You also need to find the simplest way of doing things (i.e., the most efficient way). Above all, you need to maintain a high standard in everything—whether it’s a refurbishment project or the service you expect from your team to deliver a project.
Learning to Be Aggressively Calm
I’ve been shot at, bombed, and seen team members killed while serving abroad. In those situations, you can’t afford to panic. You have to be aggressive yet calm.
Though less dramatic, it’s the same in property and business. Things go wrong, emergencies happen, and you have to deal with them quickly.
I see people get irate over the pettiest things and panic over nothing. In the military, you develop a solutions-based mindset and learn that there’s always a way to remedy a situation. But you can only find that remedy with a calm and clear mind.
That being said, there are some situations we simply can’t control. My approach to life is this: if you can’t change something, there’s no point stressing over it.
Learning to Walk Again
I served in the military for 10 years before facing a life-changing injury that hindered me from continuing my service.
In 2007, I had a severe accident that left the right-hand side of my body paralysed. The doctors said there was a high chance I’d never walk again, to which I said, “f*ck that.”
It took me four months of continually pushing myself, doing leg exercises, and trying to walk, but eventually, I was able to do it. There was still some healing needed, and even today, I have problems with my right knee, but I can walk and run as normal.
It’s all about mindset, discipline, and pushing through. More importantly, it’s about self-belief and believing that you can achieve anything. Without that mindset, you never will.
From Soldier to Bodyguard
My injury prevented me from serving in the military in the same way I did before. So instead, I transitioned into close protection (also known as bodyguarding) for private clients in the UK and private military companies overseas. It offered the same discipline and structure, so it was a logical step that many ex-military people made.
I travelled to Africa and undertook training in Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T), high-level medical training, advanced driving, and hand-to-hand combat before transferring to Iraq. There, I worked for some of the world’s largest oil and gas corporations, protecting sites from potential attacks and escorting ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) through dangerous areas in the region.
The contracts I worked on were worth billions to the oil companies, so it was big stuff, working with some serious people!
Learning from UHNWIs: Time is Everything
When I was dealing with the heads of these firms—often billionaires—I realised that they were different. They were clean and cutthroat. You could tell they were successful just by their mannerisms.
But the number one thing I learned from being around them is that time is more valuable than money. It’s all about knowing your worth, and to the people I worked with, their time was everything. That’s what sets apart the successful from the ultra-successful. At the end of the day, time is the one thing you can’t make back.
Transitioning into Property
I was paid well in this job, earning upwards of six figures. When you’re out there working, there’s nothing to spend your money on, so you end up building significant savings. I used that reserve to invest in the UK property market, slowly building a portfolio back home.
When I was back in England between jobs, I’d refurbish my properties myself. That hands-on experience taught me so much about renovating houses. I’ve always been obsessed with learning and self-development, so alongside the refurbs, I was also taking fire safety courses and other qualifications to learn as much as I could.
An old friend of mine saw what I was doing and asked if I could help him with his project. He was developing a housing estate and needed help creating structure and a logical approach. It was a big project, but with self-belief, we pulled it off. That success propelled me to leave my job and go full-time as a property investor.
The only thing that held me back after that was my mental health.
Mental Health- Looking After Your Most Important AssetI went through trauma both in the military and as a bodyguard. I’ve seen friends die and witnessed some horrific scenes.
In the jobs I had, it was almost frowned upon to talk about what you’d seen or how you felt. The attitude was that you just needed to "crack on" and get on with it. That mindset has led to countless people—including some of my close friends—taking their own lives.
I didn’t want to come home and burden my family with what I’d experienced. I didn’t expect them to know how to help me either.Knowing I needed help, I spoke to my doctor and was referred to a mental health specialist. After I told him what I’d experienced, his exact words were, “I don’t know what to say.” If someone senior in the NHS is telling you that, it’s hard not to feel worried!
Eventually, I was referred to a specialist in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), who helped me work through the traumatic moments. We went over the experiences, relived them, and compartmentalised them so they no longer negatively affected my mind.My message here is this: even the strong struggle. We all have our battles and demons. If you need help, speak to someone. Nothing I’ve achieved would have been possible if I hadn’t talked to someone about how I felt. You are your greatest asset, so look after yourself.
The Creation of Swish Holiday Apartments
I won’t write much about Swish, considering it was the main feature of the last issue. But now that you know more about me, it might make sense why we created such high-end apartments in Blackpool—a place that’s not exactly known for luxury.Both people close to me and strangers online questioned my sanity when my partners and I announced our plan to build luxury holiday lets in Blackpool. But in the end, it worked.
People often talk about occupancy rates. My theory was that 50% occupancy at £500 a night was better than 100% occupancy at £50 a night. It worked even better than that—we’re now almost at 100% occupancy most of the time, with bookings into late 2025.Swish is a real-life example of how the military mindset applies to property. High standards, self-belief, and thinking outside the box can lead to huge success.I’m not saying you should jump straight into buying hotels. Believe in yourself, but never take on more than you can handle. You need experience and the right people around you to succeed.
In this age of social media, you see the highlight reels of successful people, but you don’t see how they got there—the heartbreak, the losses, the time it took. Persistence is key. Play the long game, and success will come.
Diversification: Futureproofing Your Property Portfolio
The COVID outbreak taught us how unexpected situations can suddenly throw us into turmoil. For me, it also highlighted the importance of having a diverse property portfolio. I know people who invested solely in rent-to-serviced accommodation (R2SA) and lost their entire portfolios overnight.
Having a mix of commercial property, buy-to-lets, multi-unit apartment blocks, and other investment types saved my a*se.
The only way to build diversification in your portfolio is to know and understand different investment strategies. Even if we never face something as extreme as a pandemic again, there’s always the risk of changes in government legislation.One of the ways to diversify your portfolio is with the right strategy.
Strategy: The Key to Success in Property
People struggle to find property deals because they look at everything through the lens of a single strategy. However, the best deals often combine multiple investment strategies into one opportunity.
For example, I’m currently purchasing three apartments with land from a motivated seller. Because the seller is motivated, I’ve negotiated certain agreements. I’ve also identified that there’s space on the adjoining land for two more apartments or a bungalow. My agreement is conditional on securing planning permission for this, along with a few other details.Once I achieve planning, I’ll title split the existing building from the land and sell the land with planning permission for a higher value. This will bring in an extra £60,000+ profit.You can also apply strategy to funding. For instance, you could use short-term lending from a private individual to fund the refurbishment, use a private lender or individual for the purchase of the building, and then switch to long-term finance via a bank, leaving none of your own money in—or even using none of your own money at all.
It’s equally important to have a clear strategy for how you’ll make money from your investment in the short, medium, and long term.
Take the block of apartments I mentioned earlier:
• Once refurbished, I’ll generate rental income from the existing apartments.• The property’s prime location means it’s likely to appreciate in value over the next five years.• Finally, the refurbishments will immediately add value, increasing my capital growth.
By combining multiple strategies—whether for finding deals, structuring funding, or generating returns—you can unlock opportunities that others might overlook.
A few pieces of advice I give frequently are:
“If you find a deal, make it better. If it’s not a deal, make it one!”
“Never waste too much time on a deal. If it works, it works. If not, move on.”
Buying a Property is Like Breaching a Building
As I mentioned at the start of the article, in the military, before breaching a building, we always needed a clear strategy and plan. For example, we might develop five different approaches, each broken down into precise steps.
It’s the same when you buy and renovate a property—you need a step-by-step approach. How will you approach the vendor to negotiate the deal? How will you structure the purchase to suit your goals? What type of finance will you use? Can you avoid paying stamp duty?
Just as there are multiple ways to storm a building, there are multiple ways to make a property deal work. If it doesn’t stack up as a buy-to-let, could you flip it for a profit? Or perhaps use it as serviced accommodation?
At the end of the day, it’s all about reducing risk while maximising opportunity.
Using Options to Mitigate Risk
It can be hard to tell from a Rightmove listing what will and won’t work. For example, you might have a vision for building or converting a property, only to find during due diligence that planning permission isn’t possible.
Buying a property on an option agreement is one way to mitigate risk. An option is an agreement that gives you the legal right, but not the obligation (if structured in the correct way), to purchase a property for a pre-agreed price within a specified timeframe. During this period, you can seek whatever variable of structure you like to enhance the profit before the completion takes place.
With an option, you can apply for planning permission or investigate whether the property qualifies for permitted development (PD) rights. You can also assess whether a Title Split—dividing the property into multiple units—is viable, and if the above doesn’t satisfy your agreement, then you can step away from the deal.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to find off-market properties to use option agreements. My last few deals were all sourced from Rightmove. This is why understanding multiple investment strategies is so important—it helps you identify opportunities that most people overlook.
Finally, don’t waste too much time on a single deal. There’s an abundance of land and far too many unoccupied properties in this country. If one deal doesn’t work, move on to the next.
An Example of Options in Action
I used an option agreement to secure the purchase of four self-contained apartments and a commercial retail shop, now generating £37,000 in annual rental income.When I found the property online, it was in poor condition, and the vendor was asking too much, which is why it hadn’t sold. I saw the potential to add value through refurbishment, increasing rental income, and reducing mortgage costs by Title Splitting the units into a semi-commercial property.
Before making my offer, I built a strong relationship with the vendor, introduced by the agent. My advice? Be transparent to manage expectations and understand the seller’s needs—it’s the key to crafting creative deals they’re more likely to accept.
I funded the deal using investor finance, combining short-term funding for the refurb and long-term finance to hold the property. Even though I have my own capital, I prefer private finance as it keeps deals running smoothly without relying on slow banks.The vendor accepted my below-market offer, with a contract ensuring they couldn’t pull out within 12 months. I legally separated the units and completed a full refurb, benefiting from planning permission already granted years ago.I now teach my mentees how to structure similar deals with little or none of their own money. I also provide support to ensure their deals are viable, transforming their confidence.
The Figures:
• Purchase Price: £245,500• Refurbishment Costs: £105,000• Legal and Professional Fees: £6,000• Private Finance (6 months): £2,625• Total Expenditure: £359,125• Gross Development Value (GDV) of Individual Units: £540,000• End Value of Commercial Unit: £70,000• Uplift in Value: £180,875• Gross Annual Rent: £37,000
My Final Advice—Believe in Yourself
People often ask me what my end game is. The truth is, if I wake up tomorrow and no longer enjoy what I’m doing, I’ll stop. Money is a by-product of success, but if you’re not enjoying something, don’t do it. Life is too short to spend it on things you don’t love.I have a nice home and a good life. If I wanted, I could retire tomorrow. The reason I don’t is simple: I love what I do.
That’s only been possible because I believed in myself—even when others didn’t. It’s also because I stay in the right environments. I truly believe that if you hang around five millionaires, you’ll become the sixth. You need to be in a growth-focused environment, constantly pushing your boundaries.I’ll be blunt. A lot of people talk a good game. They’re great at saying what they ‘want to do’ or ‘will do’, but they never take action. Being in the right environment means being around action takers. I lead by example and walk the talk. Let’s face it, there are some people out there who offer ‘education’ who can’t say the same thing.
You also need a clear vision and goals. Your goals must be measurable. For example, if your aim is to become a property millionaire, and you’re not there yet, how will you achieve it? What steps will you take, and in what timeframe?
Ultimately, you’re the only person who can change your life. Your future and your success rest entirely on you.
Giving You the Strategies You Need
I’ll never stop being active in property. As of the writing of this article, I have multiple projects, including another hotel, buy-to-let purchases, large renovations, apartment block purchases, and land purchases underway.
But like I wrote above, I only do what I do because I enjoy it. Over the years, I have found great enjoyment in helping others grow their businesses and property portfolios with out-of-the-box thinking.
I have been working with people for a while now, showing them how to build serious wealth through assets, enhance their investment strategy, and learn techniques that will help them find and develop property deals that even the most experienced investors miss.
If I can help you with your business, mindset, or property journey, then contact me using any of the information below.
LinkedIn: Thomas SumnerInstagram: Beyondpropertytraining or tommysum7FB: Beyond property trainingEmail: Info@bbnw.co.uk
