AMID uncertainty about the outlook for the economy we hear from an entrepreneur who has persuaded American financiers to invest heavily in Scotland.

Name:

Craig Inglis.

Age:

41.

What is your business called?

Structured House Group .

Where is it based?

Glasgow.

What services does it offer?

We develop all levels of residential, student and community-living accommodation and hotels, with properties in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Plymouth, and soon to be Manchester. We buy, design, obtain planning consents then build and manage the properties. We have 12 live development sites with more in the pipeline.

To whom does it sell?

We let our rooms and apartments Europe-wide. As well as housing students, we cater for young professionals who no longer want to live with their parents but can’t afford the deposit to become first-time buyers. We also provide accommodation for older people looking to downsize or who want a place in the city centre close to amenities.

What is its turnover?

In our first year we got our development value pipeline up to £65m with two sites. The pipeline today is now more than £500m and it will be over £1bn in the next two years.

How many employees?

We have 30 staff with a target of 60 within 18 months.

When was it formed?

2013.

Why did you take the plunge?

I’ve been in business my whole adult life, starting my first business when I was 14. I grew up in Oban and, after leaving school, I worked as an apprentice mechanic, a site labourer for my dad, a door-to-door advertising salesman for Thomson Local Directory and for a telecoms company called Telewest. After exceeding my sales target by 800 per cent in my first year, I thought I could be making money for myself rather than for someone else. I’d always wanted to start my own business and so I launched Alcami, a telecoms business, and then Routetrader which supported more than 2000 carriers worldwide. At the time, the bank wouldn’t lend me money because of my inexperience so I had to fund the launch from what I could sell. I ran the business until I was 28 before selling it.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

After selling Alcami I invested in property businesses including one which came within days of floating on the London Stock Exchange until Lehman Brothers went bust. I lost everything in the fallout from the ensuing financial crisis, including my car, but never considered giving up; I was determined to battle on. I spent some time thinking things through and planning how I was going to set up what would become Structured House Group. I’d learned some hard lessons, but important ones.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

Together with a friend, Derek Clark, I acquired a site in Beith Street in the west end of Glasgow with the aim of building student accommodation. We knew it involved risk – we didn’t yet have planning permission for what was a big site and the property market was still in the doldrums following the crash. No-one was building commercial properties but there were sectors where demand was ongoing, no matter how the economy was performing, such as for care homes and student accommodation. Between us, we invested everything we had, even taking out loans. We pressed on, worked hard and, despite some sleepless nights, we eventually sold the property to Vita Student, one of the best operators in the UK.

What was your biggest break?

Signing a £500m student accommodation joint venture with Harrison Street Real Estate, a Chicago-based asset and fund management company, in February. It is a phenomenal deal for a Glasgow company of our size. The firm knows its stuff and we were kept on our toes throughout the negotiations but eventually we got there. They are a terrific partner and, after we’d demonstrated that we were going to drive investment in Glasgow, Scotland, and the UK, we were down to the minutiae.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

Creating something from nothing. I am generally travelling a lot, I get a buzz walking into the office at 7am knowing that I’m responsible for all the activity going on. I love Glasgow, I find it one of the most interesting cities in the world because of the people and the diversity, and I want to see it thrive like it did at the time of the 1988 Garden Festival or the 2014 Commonwealth Games; these shouldn’t have been one offs. This should be the way that it is in Glasgow every day. City centres need to attract people back in to live, to bring up families, to study, to grow old where the amenities are and where the businesses can benefit.

What do you least enjoy?

Wasted time. In business, there can be a lot of red-tape and we don’t need so many meetings - they take up too much time.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

The Scottish Government is looking at reforming the planning process and I hope it will recognise that the needs of the economy are an important factor in decision making. Planning decisions should not be made in a vacuum that don’t take account of economic considerations that can create jobs and prosperity for the communities in question.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

My grandfather told me never to give up. He was responsible for a successful company and sold it to share the proceeds with his children and grandchildren.