Craigard Property Investments

"This is a business which requires your organisation to gain coverage in the specialist national trade press, with local press not being quite as important," says Paul Foster, who set up Craigard, a commercial property investment company, in April 2005. 

"In particular we want exposure to the agency and property business market," Paul says. "In this industry you need to be well known. Having profile leads to bigger deals, which in turn will attract bigger clients. We can use press cuttings to sell Craigard. It is all about nurturing relationships," he explains. 

"At this fairly early stage of our growth, LCM's main responsibility has been to help us gain this valuable coverage in the national trade press, although they also designed our logo and we are doing local press. As things develop we will probably get to a point where we need to think about branding." 

"She is like a little terrier really," Paul says of LCM account manager Vicky Wilson, who helped secure coverage of Craigard in the national property trade press. This presented a challenge, because the company is a relatively modest player in national terms, with its focus on building a portfolio of properties between Weymouth, Brighton and the M4 and M25 motorways – but it was a challenge that Vicky relished and has succeeded in achieving. 

“I met with senior trade journalists on the two top target publications and learned that if you are not doing deals of £20m then national press would not generally be interested in singling it out as a news story," says Vicky. “So, to ensure the company gained the exposure it deserves, the key has been to communicate more about the business than the depth of its pockets.” 

While not large enough to make the national stage for size alone, the company's financial performance is remarkable: In its first year it delivered a profit, thanks to its investment in property in Nursling, Segensworth, Southampton, Thatcham, Southampton. It is now looking to make some strategic investments in other regions, including a 26-acre investment near Leeds, a deal worth over £13m. 

"We decided to focus on my own lifestyle-change story as a newsworthy angle," says Paul. So Craigard's achievements were firmly placed in the context of Paul's decision to leave a prestigious job in a Warwick-based firm and, by setting the company up in Southampton, return to his family roots and the sea. In taking this bold step Paul was able to draw on all his professional experience, and add a layer of specialist local knowledge and network of contacts. 

The tactic worked, with significant coverage being gained in both top target publications. 

“In the 20 months from setting up to the end of 2006 we've done transactions of £50m from a standing standing start," Paul says. 

What is more it has offered him the priceless opportunity to indulge in his passion for sailing, so often frustrated by his former Warwick base.