Commercial to residential conversions can offer great flexibility. And when we bought the freehold of 55 Old Town in November 1985 for £55,000, the property was in poor condition. But its potential was obvious to us. A 768 sq ft shop on the ground floor, storage rooms in the basement and on the first and second floors – together, they presented a number of options.

We gained planning permission to carry out our architect’s stylish design and completed the work in just 10 months. The resulting residential maisonette and roof terrace above the shop was let for a year before being sold in September 1987 for the full asking price of £69,500.

Downstairs, we refurbished the shop and ran it as an art gallery for three years. We sold this too, along with the building’s freehold, in 1988 for £105,500.