Turn the clock back to 2009 and you would meet many individuals at property events who had experienced difficult circumstances with repossessions and negative equity. Many property developers found their lenders to be less than sympathetic in the immediate aftermath of the ‘credit crunch’ and I heard many a tale of woe during the years that followed.

Thankfully the gradual economic recovery and a resurgence in confidence led to a sustained period of growth in property values which has been rippling out to many UK regions in the last few years.

As such it’s not been too hard to come across ‘success stories’ of developers and property investors who have capitalised during the upturn and the pages of this magazine have regularly featured some great examples.

So the content of this month’s investor interview with the London based property entrepreneur Matt Siddell should be noted as his tale is one that could well be replicated in the next year as market sentiment in some regions becomes less positive.

I first met Matt about 18 months ago and as the host of a well-attended and highly regarded monthly property event in west London (PPN Knightsbridge), he was at that time in the process of selling a good size residential portfolio in the Thames Valley and investing the proceeds into various development projects in west London.

Matt explains how he had got to that stage as he recounts his journey in property investment.