60 second interview: Loxley McKenzie of Colordarcy

Monday 14th November 2011

What does it say on your business card? Loxley McKenzie, managing director of Colordarcy - passionately in love with property!

Where are you based? The question should be; where are you not based? My main office is located two minutes from Liverpool Street Station, in the City of London. However, I spend around six to seven months per year in our other offices in Florida, Brazil, Sweden and Shanghai.

What is your business? Colordarcy is a leading property investment company that specialises in finding overseas property that pays for itself, complimented with a comprehensive service package, which is carefully designed with our clients in mind. We offer investment properties for sale in Atlanta, Florida, Brazil, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

How many people do you employ? Our business model is to work more with strategic partners. Therefore, we combine direct and indirect employees. I currently look after 45 people from all around the world.

What about buying trends? Istanbul is undoubtedly the preferred marketplace in terms of property at this time and it is hard to see any other contender for this crown in the foreseeable future. Local demand for property is sky high and although Turkish nationals form the largest demographic in terms of investors it is clear to see that Russian and British investors also are benefitting, albeit by a far lower percentage. There are an abundance of British buy-to-let investors pouring into Istanbul because there is typically 60% LTV mortgages available with rental yields of up to 10% not uncommon. Our figures also indicate that sales in Istanbul are actually outselling our previous best-performing marketplaces by an average of 60% against individual countries and regions such as Brazil, Egypt, Florida and Atlanta. I also expect to see UK property investment gaining further momentum in 2012. Any UK property developers out there reading this article please contact us…we have many clients looking for top UK investment opportunities.

How interested are you in property? I bought my first property at the age of 20. By 25, I had built up a cash-flow positive portfolio of UK and overseas properties worth more than £10 million. My investment philosophy is to invest solely in properties that put cash into my pocket, rather than put money into properties take cash out of my pocket. This philosophy has served me well, as such, I have made more money in the recession than before, because with mortgage rates falling – my cash-flow increased astronomically. I am still investing in four to six properties per annum. My mother still can’t understand why I need to buy more properties. To put it simply, I am a property addict!