£5M retail brand, 10 cash properties, still lives at home — Taylor McNeillie's no-excuses story

At 23 years old, Taylor McNeillie has built a £700k property portfolio — mortgage free — while running a retail business doing over £1 million a year. And he still lives at home. 🏠In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Taylor to hear the full story: from reselling Yeezys at 12 years old and skipping class to cop Supreme drops, to opening Empire Glasgow at 18, scaling to £1.8 million in revenue, and quietly buying 10 properties in cash before most people his age have a savings account.This one is packed with lessons on business, money, social media, and why building a cash-generating business first might be the smartest property strategy of all.🕐 TIMESTAMPS00:00 – Intro: Taylor's story in numbers02:30 – Growing up in East Dorsetshire & early entrepreneurial spark06:00 – Reselling Yeezys at 12 using his dad's credit card11:00 – Supreme drops from the school toilet at 11am16:00 – Building the Empire Glasgow Instagram page22:00 – Covid hits — and changes everything27:00 – Opening the pop-up in Princes Square at 1833:00 – Going full time: signing the long-term lease38:00 – Silverburn Christmas pop-up & £790k quarter43:00 – Running 9 staff at 19 — winging it and winning49:00 – Revenue peaks at £1.8M — then the Yeezy disaster55:00 – Business rates, retail challenges & Glasgow high street1:02:00 – The property lightbulb moment & 500k sitting in the bank1:08:00 – First deal: 2-bed in Cambuslang for £65k (never seen it)1:14:00 – Buying mortgage free — the no-debt philosophy1:20:00 – TikTok, the £28k flat and the "parasite landlord" comments1:28:00 – 10 properties, £700k portfolio, still at home with mum1:34:00 – Future plans: portfolio deals, refinancing & commercial property🔑 KEY TOPICS✅ How Taylor built £500k in business profit before touching property✅ Buying 10 properties mortgage free in under 2 years✅ Why he treats tenants like customers✅ Using social media to find off-market deals✅ The Yeezy stock crisis — and how he handled it✅ Business rates in Glasgow & the retail landscape✅ Why Taylor avoids serviced accommodation and shiny penny strategies✅ His plan to refinance a portfolio deal and scale further📲 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE🏪 Empire Glasgow — Princes Square & Buchanan Street, Glasgow🔑 Kyle Black — property sourcing🔑 Callum McWilliam — Rapid Removals & sourcing📊 Slater Hogg — letting agents🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode👍 Like if you found this valuable💬 What do you think of the no-mortgage approach? Drop it in the comments 👇