He’s still in his early 20s but Nathan Berry already presides over more than 160 residential and commercial properties as founder of Aston Beaumont. The result of nepotism or a lucrative trust fund? Nope. Nathan has realised his own entrepreneurial ambitions thanks to a combination of determination, hard work and a supportive mum who knows which merchandise will help her son’s business stand out from the crowd. Alison Cowie reports.
Having been diagnosed with dyslexia, Nathan Berry struggled throughout school and found academia challenging.
“School work was hard for me so I applied myself to other things,” the 23-year-old reveals. “I was very driven and anything I did, I wanted to make it work,”
Nathan began selling sweets in the yard at break and lunchtimes before his entrepreneurial spirit moved online and he spent hours trawling the likes of eBay and Gumtree looking for bargains he could resell at a profit.
“I once I got 20 rolls of free AstroTurf that I sold for £2 each. It doesn’t sound much but when you’re 14, it’s a good bit of pocket money.”
Keen to enter the world of work at the earliest opportunity, Nathan started his career at a local paintball centre on the eve of his 16th birthday.
While most see their first job as simply a way of earning spending money, Nathan was inspired by his older colleagues’ work ethic and learnt important life skills on how to succeed in a career.
Nathan soon moved to Leeds Building Society, where he worked in the mortgage department. He again used the opportunity to absorb everything he could about property and investments.
“It was a real eye-opener for me,” he explains. “I wasn’t taught anything about credit scores, mortgages, savings or bank accounts at school, but I could see this was how adult life worked.
“I was always intrigued about the portfolios of properties people had. They might have five, six or even more buy-to-let properties where the rent covered the mortgages and more.
“It seemed the perfect business and so I was always keeping tabs on the areas people were investing in.”
Currently, the average age of a person buying their own home in the UK is 33 but Nathan was still in his teens when he took his first step onto the property ladder.
Living with his parents in Whitley Bay at the time, Nathan saved his wages and, at 19 years old, had enough for a deposit on a house and a couple 0% credit cards to finance the refurbishment. He made an offer on a modest ‘doer upper’ close to his family home.
The sale eventually went through in March 2020 but as Nathan explained, he got the keys on the Monday and by the Friday the country had gone into lockdown.
“The place needed loads of work but, because of COVID, I couldn’t get any trades in.”
Undeterred, Nathan set about tackling the refurbishment work himself with the help of his dad.
Despite his interest in buy-to-let properties, he had always intended to move into his first property.
“I thought I needed my own home before I considered looking at investments,” he adds.
But when Nathan’s family member was looking for a new property to rent closer to the schools catchment area, he suggested she rent his new property.
“It was a nicer place, in a nicer area, closer to family. It just made sense. I said you can move in and we’d figure it. They said, ‘yes, let’s do it’.
Nathan had to refinance the property on an investment buy-to-let basis but found the process relatively quick, easy – and surprisingly lucrative.
“Because the value of the property increased, I could take more money out that I’d initially saved up and spent on the renovations. I couldn’t believe the money I’d made in just a few months.”
At 21, Nathan moved to a new job at Lambert Smith Hampton and was part of a team managing commercial property across the North East, all while he continued to grow his own property portfolio to eight homes.
In 2022, Nathan then took the dramatic decision to leave his secure job and set up his own property management agency.
“I had learnt so much from everyone at Lambert Smith Hampton, and with my own properties, people had started to ask if I would consider managing their properties. I thought, ‘why not? Let’s give it a go’.”
Aston Beaumont launched in August 2022 and was branded as a ‘modern and accountable’ letting agency.
To realise his dream, Nathan needed instructions and he saw property events as the ideal opportunity to get face-to-face with landlords.
To help him, he recruited his biggest supporter – Mum.
“I did my first event on my own and I didn’t know what I was doing. I just got a few branded mugs and pens and didn’t get much traffic to my stall.
“Then my mum asked if she could come to the second one and she organised little bottles of Champagne and chocolates with our branding on. They worked much better.
“My mum’s now my plus one at all the events I do.”
Nathan knew his age could work against him and landlords may be reticent to put their investment property into the hands of someone his age.
But he has relied on building strong personal relationships and describes Aston Beaumont as a letting agent ‘made by landlords for landlords’ to emphasise his own practical experience in investment properties.
“The point we’re trying to make is that being landlords ourselves, we understand the difficulties of the property industry with ever changing legislation and constant challenges, but we are here to help you get the best service level on your assets, whilst being accountable, attentive and pragmatic to challenges”.
Nathan’s hard work has paid off and Aston Beaumont now manages an impressive portfolio of more than 160 tenancies ranging from single-lets, student, professionals and commercial across the North East, from Teesside to Northumberland.
With just a small team, Nathan has used technology and pragmatism to ensure Aston Beaumont can maintain his promised high-quality customer service.
“Landlords and tenants often become frustrated at the time it takes to deal with issues, which can grow into something more detrimental.
“It was important for us to get systems in place that speeded up those turnaround times.”
The young entrepreneur is keen to work with more landlords to increase Aston Beaumont’s managed portfolio, alongside building his own personal portfolio.
Nathan recently completed a commercial conversion in North Shields, as he explains.
“The building dates back to 1895 and had been an old wallpaper shop since the late 1950s. I spent last summer renovating the space. I’m happiest when I’m in my ‘scruffs’ knocking down walls. It now looks amazing with tenant already moved in.”
By breathing new life into dilapidated buildings, Nathan recognises the regeneration it brings to an area and he’s keen to do more of this in the future.
“I’m conscious of the local areas and where we live. I don’t like to see the high streets fall apart and fail. I live in Whitley Bay and we’ve got Park View, which is so vibrant with independent businesses and shops. But you can go close by and you’ll find similar places that should be just as bustling and amazing, but they’re not.
“If I can be a small cog in helping to bring local areas up, I’m all for that.”
Nathan also wants to help more young people get onto the property ladder and is happy to share his expertise at every opportunity. He also regularly makes documents his property journey on social media to help demystify the world of investment properties.
Nathan says he’s learning every day and has always understood the power of taking inspiration from others. He’s currently looking to expand his growing network both inside and outside of the property industry.
Ask about his long-term plans and Nathan glibly describes himself sitting on a beach with a margarita in hand. But this scene is surely a long way off as there’s still plenty to come from this incredibly driven entrepreneur, whose ambition, dedication and business savvy already go way beyond his 23 years.
For more information, visit www.aston-beaumont.co.uk
