Southern Enterprise Awards 2021

117 | Southern Enterprise Awards 2021 End-to-end property investment expert, Target Five, is dedicated to helping investors achieve their financial goals by providing expert knowledge and years of experience. Andy Babbayan tells us more about the firm, the rationale behind its inception and its ambitious plans for the future. Target Five (T5) Group has been sourcing and developing properties since 2013 and prides itself on its agile and bespoke approach to helping clients find the right investments at the right time and achieving consistent returns. “The aim has always been to source and develop good quality investments in an ethical way,” explains Andy Babbayan, T5 Director to a team of six. “This means keeping to our five key values of integrity, honesty, respect for others, respect for ourselves, and ambition.” The firm focuses on two key strategies: land development and high yield property development. Thanks to its unrivalled network across the south coast, it offers a consistent supply of excellent opportunities. This, coupled with its continual investment in training and technology, has helped T5 secure a reputation for professionalism, reliability and unparalleled market knowledge. Having now completed more than 400 projects, from scoping through project management to onwards refinance or sale, the firm has never advertised its services and all business comes via referral and recommendation. “However, we are never resting on past success and are constantly reading the news and judging future trends,” continues Andy. “We see investing as a completely professional pastime and we have to be able to control as many variables as we can. We plan constantly to ensure that we stay ahead of the competition and ahead of the market trends.” Not long after launching, T5’s niche became student HMOs in Brighton and when this market became more saturated, it moved into more high- end HMO and co-living projects for professional sharers, from Eastbourne to Bognor Regis. “We have our own specialist HMO letting agency - ProLets - which allows us to be market leaders in our area and we invest in HMOs for yield but also Property & Investment Company of the Year 2021 Aug21356 because there is a poor provision of this type of accommodation in the area. We design our HMOs with the resident in mind and, as such, have a 97% occupancy rate across our rental stock.” As Brighton is home to some of the largest employers, such as the European HQ for AMEX and The Royal County Hospital, not forgetting the thriving tech industry, the area is transient in residents with a clear swell in the average age of 20-44, which is clear to see with regards to the number of students attending the significant number of universities and colleges located there. Being a top tourist destination means Brighton and Hove enjoys great yield returns on holiday let investments and, most importantly, Brighton still remains a top relocation destination for those moving out of London due to its fantastic transport links. “However, this does drive up those property prices!” Andy continues. “The changes and extension of permitted development rights has enabled us to carry out more commercial conversions to be able to produce great quality HMOs. The relative sq ft values mean that there is a true arbitrage opportunity, and we are truly regenerating the town and city centres. There is a lot of redundant space above retail units that are now being brought back into use. It also helps relieve the pressure on the retail sector that has been difficult to operate post Covid. “It is not that we do not have faith in HMOs, it is just healthy to have a mix and smaller flats are easier to sell, as you can sell to the whole of the market and not just investors.” It’s not all about gaining new business however and T5 is committed to giving something back to the local area in the form of providing free mentorship to people who share their values and passions. The firm is also a big believer in investment in its staff and money is regularly spent on training and updating skillsets. T5 is one of the most active companies in its sector area, regularly contributing to property investment magazines and podcasts, being active members of several networking groups, and having a large and engaged social media following. Therefore, the company is often a trend influencer, rather than a follower, and regularly wins awards to back this up. Most recently, the firm was rewarded with the prestigious title of Property Investment & Development Company of the Year 2021 in the Southern Enterprise Awards. Not only is the future looking bright, but Andy tells us that there are extensive plans for further development and expansion afoot. “Our long term strategy is continue offering our ‘cradle to grave service’ with our partner companies ProLets (professional co-living rental agency) and StuLets (specialised student HMO rental agency), but we will be launching into SSAS and REIT this next coming year, forging new partnerships and collaborations with UK Property Angels and charities so that our properties are offered at 30% to this sector.” Contact: Andy Babbayan Company: Target Five Property Consultants Limited Web Address: www.targetfive.co.uk