Turning a £310K Empty Building Into a £17K/Month Business Centre with Chris and Andrew

In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven are joined by Andrew and Chris from Brightstone Property, returning two years after their first appearance to share how they went from flips and serviced accommodation to delivering a 30-unit commercial business centre in Falkirk.They break down how they financed, developed, and filled the building — including the challenges of a six-figure refurb budget overrun, raising private investor finance through a SAS pension, and how the project has now grown into a profitable commercial asset and full-time business.Whether you're curious about commercial conversions, raising finance, or building a scalable property business, this episode delivers real talk, numbers, and lessons from two investors who are making it happen.Episode Highlights🏢 From Resi Flips to Commercial ConversionsStarted with residential flips and serviced accommodationDecided to pivot to larger commercial deals for scale and shared incomeAcquired a 7,500 sq. ft. building in Falkirk for £310KTransformed it into a 30-unit business centre (Brightstone Spaces)💰 Funding the ProjectRaised finance through a private SAS pension investorStructured the deal to buy with investor funds and fund the refurb from profitsManaged a refurb budget of £260K (which went £100K over!)Maintained investor trust through regular updates and repaid on time🔧 Overcoming Operational ChallengesRefurb included full rewiring, new fire systems, secure entry, and high-spec internetFilled the ground floor in 12 weeks via a hands-on marketing approachAchieved 97% occupancy, generating £17K/month gross rentRefinanced the building at £840K with a 70% LTV📈 Growth into Property ManagementNow managing three additional commercial sites for Liberty SpaceOffering management services for other commercial landlordsBuilding a hybrid business model combining property ownership with operational incomePlanning to acquire their next building while scaling their management armFrom modest residential flips to managing over 30 commercial tenants and multiple buildings, Andrew and Chris have completely transformed their business over the past two years. This episode is full of valuable lessons on financing, scaling, and building long-term credibility — all while remaining hands-on, humble, and community-focused.----------------------------------------------------------Prime Property Auctions – Sell your property with no upfront costs and control the reserve price. Prime Property Auction: www.instagram.com/primepropertyauctions/John: www.instagram.com/john_property_auctioneer/Luis: www.instagram.com/luis_property_auctioneer/Visit Prime Property Auction website: https://primepropertyauctions.co.uk/------------------------------------Follow us on all of our social media accounts: https://linktr.ee/scottishpropertypodcast**DISCLAIMER**Please do your own due diligence on any of our guests you may decide to do business with. We interview in good faith. However, we cannot be held responsible for any credibility issues that may arise.🤝  Visit one of our monthly networking meet-ups.  We run them on the 1st Wednesday of each month and have some fantastic guest speakers.🎟 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book your place at the networking events here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  Hope you find content useful and we would really appreciate it if you could leave a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify.Connect with us on social media:🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our private Facebook group ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠📩  Email us:[email protected]@arcproperty.uk