Ollie Piotrowski spent his teenage years cycling an hour to work earning £20 a day as a roofer to scrimp and save enough from his job to buy his first property. Developing and re-selling his first terraced house that he bought for £30,000 would set into motion what has now become a £2m a year property business.
"I've never really spoken about my business before - but I'm 35 now, with two kids, planning on getting married, so I feel like now is the right time to try and push and inspire the next generation. As a consultant, Ollie, 35, also advises high net-worth individuals – from international footballers to billionaire business people – on multi-million pound investments, from buying into hotels – such as the purchase of the Nobu Hotel in London, to facilitating the purchase of helicopters. His consultation projects have a combined worth of more than £500m.
Ollie was inspired by his Polish grandad Zdzislaw Piotrowski, who survived being taken to a Concentration Camp in the former Czechoslavakia during the Second World War at the age of 16. After surviving the horrors of war, he went on to meet his wife, and they moved to England to forge a new life. "So I went to auction and bought myself my first house with everything that I had, and just lived in it and learned how to property develop - in at the deep end - while living there. It was a tiny terraced house in Chorley," Ollie said.
"So I spent a few months looking into investments and what I could do with my £70,000 that I had made at that point - and that is when I created Pinnacle. The idea was to create a company that doesn't take an investor's money, it advises an investor of where to put the money while partnering on it with them. Instead of me taking their money I advise them and take a cut at the end, so that was the start of Pinnacle.
The importance of believing in yourself is something Ollie really wants to put across to other young people. "I want to say 'it is possible, you have to believe in yourself'. You don't have to have a fancy car or watch on Instagram to prove it. "The fallout from Brexit also caused us significant problems, as our margins were squeezed as the cost of materials sky-rocketed. The business requires a lot of mental resilience but I’ve always drawn strength from my grandad, who always reminded us that if we have food on the table and a roof over our heads, we’re doing ok. If I can cover the basics for me and my family, I’m happy."
Meanwhile Aldersley Oaks, in the picturesque village of Tattenhall in Cheshire, is Pinnacle’s 61-dwelling development, comprising 2, 3, 4 and 5-bedroom homes. The £20m plus development is 80 per cent complete, with the remaining homes due for completion by summer 2024. Ten years on, Ollie reflects on his journey and says: "It’s been a real rollercoaster, but the best feeling about this job is knowing that we are creating homes that are integral to people's lives. That feels really special to me.
"She loves reality TV, she's sucked me into watching things like The Kardashians, Married at First Sight, so it's to support her really, it's never been my desire to be a reality star! But I've enjoyed it."