Darren Jamieson: On this episode of The Engaging Marketeer, I’m speaking with former Army officer Richie Miller, who has built a successful career in property investing and development. Richie began with no formal training, no knowledge of Sheffield — and no money of his own. Yet he managed to scale from a single three-bed house to a 48-bed tower block and beyond. In this conversation, we explore how he achieved it, the risks along the way, and the mindset that helped him succeed.
Darren: Richie, you’re now a big name in property, but most of my guests usually come through Progressive, Samuel Leeds, or Simon Zutchi. Which of those did you follow?
Richie Miller: I went through Simon Zutchi. That’s where I got my training.
Darren:
What made you want to get into property in the first place?
Richie: It really started when I got married in 2015. I decided it was time to grow up and start thinking seriously about the future. My dad had been in the Army his whole career and then worked as a civil servant. He told me his biggest regret was never buying a property. When he retired, he had to buy a house for the first time, and he said he wished he’d done it much earlier.
He went on Amazon, bought the top three books about buying property, and gave me one — Simon Zutchi’s Property Magic. He said, “I’m too old for this, but you might find it interesting.” That book changed the course of my life.
Darren: So you read the book — what did you do next?
Richie: I applied the principles as best I could and ended up buying my first property: a three-bed house in Sheffield. At the time, I was still serving as an Army officer and living in Surrey, so I didn’t know Sheffield at all. But my wife’s family had a connection — her brother ran a local letting agency — and he helped us find and source the property.
It was a straightforward refurb: just painting, decorating, and a new bathroom. That project gave me a gentle introduction to property investing and a lot of confidence because it worked really well.
Darren: A lot of people spend ages researching areas and analysing deals before they ever take action. You just dived in.
Richie: That comes from my military background. In the Army, you’re trained to make decisions under pressure, with limited information. You might be cold, wet, and sleep-deprived, but you still have to decide: go left, go right, retreat, or hold your ground. You can’t sit still.
I carried that into property. A lot of investors get stuck in “analysis paralysis” — weighing up HMOs versus serviced accommodation, Sheffield versus Wales versus the Southeast — and they never take action. My approach was: pick something, go for it, and deal with the outcomes as they come.
Darren: And financially, how did that first deal go?
Richie: I bought it for about £77,000. It was a repossession, with a market value of about £85,000. After spending around £6,000 on the refurb, the property was revalued at £109,000–£115,000. For £90, the bank did a desktop valuation and extended the mortgage based on the higher rent and improvements.
Altogether, including purchase costs and stamp duty, I was in for about £22,000–£23,000. The refinance released £27,000, which meant I not only got my money back, but actually walked away with more than I put in. I still owned the house, had equity in it, and was getting positive cash flow from the rent. That’s when I thought, “There’s definitely something in this.”
Darren: At that point, many people would think, “Why bother with training if I’ve already cracked it?”
Richie: True, and I did think that briefly. But the reality is, you don’t know what you don’t know. Reading one book gave me the basics, but training exposed me to other strategies and much bigger opportunities. It opened my eyes to personal development too, which wasn’t something the Army focused on. Suddenly, I was learning about mindset, personality types, and different approaches to decision-making. It was exciting, and it made me hungry for more.
Darren: That led to the Marples building, didn’t it — the 48-bed tower block in Sheffield?
Richie: Yes, that was my third purchase. A 48-bed HMO right in the centre of Sheffield. I had two big problems: no money and no credibility with lenders. No bank was going to give me a mortgage on a 48-bed block with only one property behind me.
That’s where partnership came in. Chris, the letting agent who’d helped me with my first deal, had years of experience and credibility. His agency had even managed that building for the previous owners. So he joined me as a business partner. My cousin also came in, raising £100,000 by extending the mortgage on his own home. Between them and a handful of investors I met through networking, we raised the deposit.
Darren:
That’s a serious jump
… from a three-bed to a 48-bed!
Richie: It was, but the principles are the same. Whether it’s a three-bed or a 48-bed, you go through conveyancing, valuations, and finance. The difference is the number of zeros.
We negotiated the price from £1.8 million down to £1.5 million. Multiple dwelling relief reduced the stamp duty from about £180,000 to £60,000. Our broker found a lender willing to lend against market value, not purchase price, so the £300,000 discount was treated as equity. All in, we needed about £300,000 in cash plus refurb costs. It was creative, but it worked.
Darren: And what did you do to improve the building?
Richie: We completely refurbished it. The previous owners had let it become tired and run down. We installed new kitchens, bathrooms, redecorated, and upgraded the furnishings. Our big selling points were king-size beds and the fastest Wi-Fi in Sheffield. We kept the solid wooden bed frames but added king-size mattresses and doubled the storage space underneath. Students loved it, and so did young professionals.
Darren:
And then COVID hit.
Richie: Exactly. We finished the refurb in January 2020 and were only about 40% occupied when the first lockdown came in March. It was chaos. We couldn’t move new tenants in, couldn’t refinance, and had to delay paying back investors by 12 months. It was a tough year.
But we survived. Once things opened back up, we filled the rooms, and the gross development value doubled to over £3 million. We increased annual cash flow by around £100,000, with a mix of students and professionals paying higher rents.
Darren: You eventually leased the building out, didn’t you?
Richie: Yes, to a housing co-op. That put all the operational risk on them while we just collected rent and paid the mortgage. It was a lot quieter, though the co-op later folded and we had to take the building back. Still, I like the leasing model — fewer headaches, more freedom.
Darren: What’s really interesting is you also moved into self-storage.
Richie: Yes. We owned the freehold of the building, which included two commercial units. One was empty, and rather than letting it out for £1,000 a month, we decided to convert it into storage.
We saw a gap in the market: city-centre storage with 24-hour access. Most storage sites are on industrial estates, miles away, and only open during office hours. We invested in high-spec tech — app-controlled doors and locks, so if someone misses a payment, they’re instantly locked out. It cost about £40,000 to set up, and the returns were far better than converting it into flats.
Darren: Storage seems to be booming everywhere.
Richie: It is. Last year, the UK storage industry passed £1 billion in revenue for the first time. In the US, there’s around 8 square feet of storage per person. In the UK, it’s less than 1 square foot. The potential for growth is massive.
What I like is that it’s simpler than HMOs. No tenants, just belongings. You don’t need soundproofing or the same fire regulations. Margins can hit 30–40%, and it’s repeatable. I think it’s where HMOs were 20 years ago — the opportunities are there for those who move early.
Darren:
What’s next for you?
Richie: Right now, I’m finishing a block of 16 flats with two commercial units. My aim is to do one or two big deals a year, because that’s all you need at this level. Alongside that, I’ll keep growing the storage business. It’s a fast-growing sector with huge potential.
Darren: If someone listening wants to learn from you, how can they get in touch?
Richie: LinkedIn is the best way. Or you can book a call through my website.
Darren: Excellent. Richie, thank you so much. From military life to multimillion-pound property deals — it’s been a fascinating journey.
Richie: Thanks Darren. I’ve really enjoyed it.
About Richie:
Richie Miller is a former military officer turned successful property investor and developer. With a background in the British Army, where he learned critical decision-making skills under pressure, Richie transitioned to property investment with no formal training or knowledge of the industry.
After buying his first property in Sheffield with no money down, he quickly scaled his portfolio to a 48-bed tower block, demonstrating the power of calculated risk and strategic partnerships. Richie now focuses on high-value property investments, including large HMOs and commercial conversions, while also expanding into the growing self-storage market. His success has been driven by his ability to make quick decisions, learn from his experiences, and take action, rather than getting bogged down in analysis paralysis. As a mentor, Richie now helps others achieve success in property investment, sharing the same mindset and strategies that have fueled his own growth.
Connect with Richie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richie-miller/
Book a call: https://elevatepropertymentoring.com/
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
