Phil Bradby: House Sale, The Euro And The Lido

PHIL Bradby has a knack for calling the property market.

 “The front door has to match this one and no plastic windows. Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing UPVC windows,” explains Bradby.

Originally qualified as a solicitor he got the developing bug in 1999 when he founded Mango Homes, bought his first derelict mill in Hebden Bridge and converted it into 10 houses.

From here he took a giant leaps taking on the disused Melbourne Mill and then Pecket Well Mill above the town to undertake their rather good conversions.

He sold out his stake in late 2006 recognising the top of the market and invested his money instead in Berlin where prices post reunification were rock bottom.

They have since soared and we all know what’s happened to the UK market.

Since then he has restored an entire village at Trowan in Cornwall, the landmark Abbey Warehouse on the seafront at Penzance and a Victorian villa in Ripon.

He ventured back into UK property at the back end of last year buying two shops and two flats in Hebden Bridge which are almost complete and a two bedroom cottage in Chorlton which he refurbished and sold. He also owns a property in the Northern Quarter which he wants to turn into a restaurant.

His own home is a classic Didsbury Victorian semi, bought in 2006 and refurbished by the Mango team to his own demanding requirements.

Despite all the stats showing house prices are falling and house sales are limited he has just put it up for sale.

 So what’s his reasoning for hitting the market now?

Phil explained: “I am selling because the house is too big for me. I think the market is about as low as it can go so it is a very good time to be selling and trading up in the market.

“I think the market is going to stay low until the Euro issue is properly resolved which I am sure will involve at least a few countries having to revert to their own currencies.”

He has his eye on a property in Italy but will not do anything until he sees which countries are still standing after the Euro game of musical default concludes.

Buying in the UK he sees as far less risky and is contemplating a move south, “because the connections are better” and would like to build his own house.

Consequently his semi is up for sale for £665,000. Now in my neck of the woods you can get a detached house and a chunk of land for that price but this is south Manchester prime real estate and a similar sized house round the corner is up for £725,000.

But still.

So what do you get?

Bradby bought this house and the one next door in 2006 when both were split into flats and set about returning them to single houses.

He said: “I hadn’t intended buying both but the same family owned them and after completing on the first they asked if I wanted the other. It meant I could keep control. Being a pair they look better for being renovated together.”

That sort of gives you an indication that he likes to do things right.

So both were stripped back to brick and rewired and re-plumbed and, good move this, all the cold external walls were lined with super thin, super insulated board to help retain the heat, a big problem in older houses with solid walls.

(The house has a “C” rating on its EPC which is very good for a house that’s 140 years old)

Neither property had much in the way of original features left but you would never guess looking at the finished result because Bradby scoured salvage yards and building sites as he travelled the country and picked up age appropriate treasures.

So while it may not, technically, have original features it does have period features like the stained glass double doors into the kitchen, lovely fireplaces, deep skirtings and a turned staircase. The end result is the same.

He put a sleek kitchen in the other house and sold it as soon as it was finished with a few restrictive covenants in place. “The window colours have to match this one and no plastic windows. Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing UPVC windows in a Victorian house,” explains Bradby.

His own kitchen is more homely with an oak floor, hand built Shaker style units and an AGA and leads into a sun room that spans the back of the house. (Next doors unsurprisingly has one too.)

Two full height basement rooms offer a fitted and functional utility space and a music/tv/den.

Back on the ground floor there’s a front sitting room with a great working fire place, on the first floor a rather flamboyant bathroom, a vast room at the front currently used as a second lounge, a double bedroom and a smaller box room that has the pipework to be turned into an en-suite.

On the top floor are two more bedrooms and a shower room. (You can see the full details and more pictures here - http://www.mangohomes.co.uk/claremont%20brochure.pdf)

 It’s a lovely house, done to his usual immaculate standard, and just the job for a BBC refugee from Islington.

Bradby just loves a project but is driven both by impulse and lawyer logic. He said: “When I see a property that I think is right I follow my instincts and buy it and get on with it and so far I have not bought anything that has not worked out. Some of the projects have been difficult and fraught with problems but you just have to keep going.”

His latest project is more a crusade than a construction project at the moment.

There is a huge move towards outside swimming right now and it would be a great tourist attraction in its own right.

He wants to save the open air Lido at Grange-over-Sands with its iconic 1930s diving platform. It’s the only surviving seaside Lido in the north of England but the local council which owns it wants to knock it down to allow development of retirement housing (The pool bit would possibly remain as a garden)

So far Bradby has succeeded in getting it listed and has started a Facebook page and petition http://www.facebook.com/GrangeLido and passionately believes restoring it as a working pool would revitalise the area.

He said: “They say there is no viable alternative to filling it in but there is. Lidos in other parts of the UK are flourishing and this one is in a stunning location overlooking Morecombe Bay.

“There is a huge move towards outside swimming right now and it would be a great tourist attraction in its own right. In winter it could become an ice skating rink.

“Anyone who visits or sees the pictures online can see it is a unique treasure that we cannot afford to lose.”

I’ve seen it and I hope this project works out as well.

Read an article in The Guardian by Helen Carter here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/jun/28/campaigners-vie-save-historic-seaside-lido?INTCMP=SRCH