Inspirational Morecambe businessman who went from rags to riches in just ten years

Morecambe's Simon Das has built one of the UK’s most successful specialist commercial property finance brokerages that has helped finance multi-million projects.
Successful Morecambe businessman Simon DasSuccessful Morecambe businessman Simon Das
Successful Morecambe businessman Simon Das

For his efforts, the 36-year-old, who is the owner of the 978 Bridging finance company based at White Cross in Lancaster, has gained recognition as one of the industry’s most impressive rising stars.

Outwardly, the father-of-two projects an enviable lifestyle, boasting multiple office locations, supercars, and Saville Row suits. It is difficult to comprehend that this is the same young man who, in the not-too-distant past lived out of his car, struggled desperately to find work and was on the brink of financial ruin.

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Aged just 23, Simon suffered the loss of his mother to cancer during his final year at university. Utterly devastated and paralysed with grief, Simon found himself going without food just to be able to pay the rent in his ramshackle of a shared student house. Living in an area of high unemployment, Simon struggled to find a solution to his dire situation. Though he had inherited his late mother’s house, it was in such a serious state of dilapidation it was neither fit to sell or to rent out.

With the threat of homelessness and possible bankruptcy looming, Simon relentlessly applied for any job advertised. Eventually, after sending out countless CVs, Simon managed to gain weekend employment at a local hardware store, and although not well paid, Simon found himself surrounded by building trades professionals set amongst a backdrop of low-

cost building materials. Simon seized the opportunity to learn everything he could about home refurbishment and very slowly began renovating his late mother’s home.

It was a painstakingly slow process taking nearly two years, but Simon’s efforts paid off, turning a property in disrepair into a stunning contemporary modern living space.

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Firmly bitten by the property-bug, Simon decided to rent out his late mother’s refurbished property, affording him a little income to move to a better area. Simon and his then girlfriend Liz, began researching other areas in the northwest offering similar renovation opportunities. However, to rent out his mother’s house, they would need to find a home to live in while undertaking a refurbishment. This proved not to be such a simple exercise and another poignant learning curve for Simon.

After countless hours of research, the couple identified Morecambe Bay as having great potential and it was not long before he had found himself a mortgage offer to buy his first Morecambe property.

On securing a tenant for his late mother’s house, Simon needed his mortgage approved and a move in date for himself and Liz at the new Morecambe property. Unfortunately, the property Simon was buying was jointly owned by a housing association and they had not supplied the necessary paperwork to the lender and his mortgage offer was at the point of being revoked. No stranger to adversity, Simon had no choice but to live out of his car for a little over nine weeks, until he eventually managed to solve the mortgage lender’s paperwork.

Finally, Simon and Liz had success in attaining their first home and renovation project. Simon’s journey into the property industry had truly been a baptism of fire, but the pitfalls and adversity he had encountered along the way had forced him to learn the required knowledge of sourcing, funding, refurbishing, and letting properties.

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Like his late mother’s property, his first Morecambe conversion proved to be a huge financial success and so too, the 10 properties that followed thereafter. Over a ten-year period, Simon has increased his property portfolio exponentially, and established his group of companies that cover every aspect of the property investors journey from sourcing to funding, full property refurbishment and management.

He has dedicated himself to thousands of hours of voluntary work in the local area, chairing the West End Million Project for three years an investing in local cultural and creative projects. Indeed, it was Simon that provided the canvas and funding for the stunning four-storey high art deco mural which covers the gable of a set of his refurbished properties at Sandylands Promenade.

As a husband to Liz and father of two very young children, Simon has made very personal sacrifices in the pursuit of bettering himself, his family, and his company. Whilst Simon’s passion for Morecambe’s regeneration is readily visible via his local charitable works and area-uplifting renovation projects, his group of companies continues to support causes aligned with the ESG global agenda, addressing issues such as climate change and the importance of improving sustainable living conditions across the globe.

Simon’s success story is a testimony to his late mother’s legacy and her gift of a property that started him off on his "rags to riches journey". Now, a successful businessman and an employer of staff in Lancaster and Morecambe, Simon Das continues his own property journey while helping other investors to source, finance and refurbish their developments. Simon’s story is one of overcoming grief, hardship, and adversity, and one which he has graciously shared to help inspire others, as to what can be achieved with a little faith, relentless optimism, and self-determination.