Most people assume I’m in property.In one sense that’s true. Over the past few years I’ve been involved in assembling and developing several hospitality sites across North Wales, from manor houses and cottage complexes to a hotel redevelopment project.But property is really just the infrastructure.What I’m actually building is something much bigger: a new kind of hospitality movement designed to help people reconnect with three things modern life has quietly eroded, authenticity, community and nature.I call it FERAL.
A Different Way of Seeing OpportunityI’ve always seen the world a little differently.Growing up, I often felt like I didn’t quite fit the mould. Being more gentle and Queer as a teenager wasn’t always easy, but it shaped the way I approached life. From an early age I realised that following the conventional path didn’t particularly interest me.I studied biomedical science at university, but it didn’t take long to realise I wasn’t meant for a laboratory. I was curious about people, ideas and experiences far beyond the walls of academia.So instead I travelled, lived abroad, learned languages and started small ventures. Whether it was organising events, setting up community groups or bringing people together around shared ideas, I was always drawn to creating environments where people connected.Property entered my life almost accidentally.While living in London in my early twenties, I spotted a flat near Clapham North that looked unusually cheap for its location. My family pooled resources, my parents remortgaged their home, and together we bought the property. When we sold it later we realised we’d made a significant profit.That was the moment the penny dropped.Property wasn’t just bricks and mortar. It was a tool for freedom.
From Portfolio Thinking to VisionThroughout my twenties I repeated the process, buying, renovating and selling properties around South London. It provided flexibility and the freedom to explore other ideas.But when I turned thirty, something began to feel off. I started following the traditional property playbook, building a buy‑to‑let portfolio, chasing yields and doing what the industry said was the sensible strategy.Financially it worked. But creatively it felt empty.What I really wanted was to build something that brought people together, a place rooted in nature, community and shared experience. Somewhere people could step away from the noise of everyday life and reconnect with themselves.That idea eventually led me to Anglesey in North Wales.
The Turning PointIt felt like the right move. But that first year was incredibly tough. I didn’t know anyone locally, several projects fell through, and the strategies I was trying to use weren’t big enough to support the vision I had in my head.
By the end of that year I felt like I’d failed.
It was during that time that I started exploring breathwork and therapy. One session in particular opened the door to something I hadn’t fully understood before. It was the concept of the inner child and how much of our adult behaviour is driven by experiences from earlier in life.
I was forced to confront things I’d been carrying for years.
That journey reached a very difficult point on Christmas morning when, after months of pressure and isolation, I found myself standing on a cliff edge questioning everything.
The only reason I stepped away was my dog, Tegwen, who brought me back to reality.
That moment changed everything.
It made me realise that the voice telling me I wasn’t good enough wasn’t the present-day version of me. It was the echo of an earlier version of myself that had never been fully heard or healed.
From that point onward, I committed to doing the work.
Therapy gave me tools to understand myself better, let go of limiting beliefs and show up more authentically in the world.Interestingly, that shift changed everything.
Bron Menai: When Vision Meets OpportunityThe first major breakthrough came through a simple networking event.When it was my turn to introduce myself, instead of describing myself as a property investor I said something that probably sounded slightly audacious at the time.“I’m building a wellness retreat.”The truth was I didn’t yet have one yet but I believed the idea deeply enough to say it out loud.The woman sitting next to me turned and said, “I have a manor house and nine cottages that aren’t on the market yet. Would you like to come and see them?”That property was Bron Menai.Set across eight acres with a seven‑bedroom manor house and nine cottages, it had the potential to become exactly the kind of space I’d been imagining — somewhere that could host retreats, community events and immersive group experiences.The purchase was structured using a title‑split strategy and a joint‑venture partner who provided the deposit. It allowed the deal to move forward without significant capital from me personally.Bron Menai became the first real expression of the FERAL vision.
Plas Llechylched: Where higher vision brings skills that transform your life
A few months later, I bought a similar complex on the island. A fully operating, cash flowing holiday let complex called Plas Llechylched, with 8 cottages and a development cottage.
I was able to use the new skills that I’d been forced to learn in order to achieve that bigger vision, to help buy another life changing deal, this time with investor funds so I could call it my own.
I now live on the site with my partner Anneka, my dog, Tegwen, my, goats and chickens. With enough land to grow enough food to sustain ourselves. Another dream come true.
The Cymyran Project: How vision can create your wildest dreamsNot long afterwards another opportunity appeared.This time it was a much larger hospitality site that had been sitting quietly on the market for some time. The property included a hotel complex and five partially completed three‑bedroom townhouses.When I ran the numbers something immediately stood out.The five houses alone were worth a substantial proportion of the asking price.Which meant that if the deal could be structured creatively, the remaining hotel site could effectively be secured with minimal downside risk.The acquisition was structured through a lease option combined with vendor finance, allowing control of the site while its value is enhanced through planning improvements, regulatory approvals and redevelopment plans.The long‑term vision for the Cymyran site is ambitious.The hotel will expand to approximately 38 bedrooms. Nearby equestrian buildings will be transformed into an indoor Welsh food hall showcasing local produce, while the surrounding land will host a spa complex and a lodge park with around 50 lodges.Rather than simply operating as a hotel, the aim is to create a destination, a place where hospitality, wellness, food culture and nature intersect.
A New Category of HospitalityFERAL isn’t just a retreat brand.It’s the early stages of what I believe will become a new category of hospitality, places people visit not simply to stay overnight, but to reconnect with who they are and what matters to them.In the same way Soho House reimagined members’ clubs for creative communities, the ambition for FERAL is to reinvent how people experience nature, wellbeing and connection.Property provides the platform.But the real value lies in the experiences that happen within those spaces.
At the centre of these experiences sits the FERAL Method, a simple framework informed by scientific research into nervous system regulation, the psychological benefits of nature exposure, and the well-documented impact of community and belonging on human wellbeing.Over the coming decade my goal is to develop a network of FERAL destinations across Wales and beyond, places where people gather for retreats, events and experiences that combine nature, community and personal transformation.Because the future of hospitality isn’t just luxury.It’s reconnection.And sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is rediscover the wild, authentic parts of ourselves that modern life has taught us to ignore.That’s what finding your Feral is really about.
Deal Breakdown – Bron Menai
Location: Anglesey, North WalesSite: Manor house and 9 cottagesLand: Approximately 8 acresStrategy:• Title split structure• Joint venture deposit partner• Retreat and events positioningPrimary revenue streams:• Retreat hosting• Short‑stay accommodation• Events and workshops
Purchase Price: £1,220,000
Planning, Professional Fees, Stamp Duty: £52,000
Build Cost and investor fees: £950,000
Gross Development Value (GDV): £2,850,000
Profit: Average NET £8,000 per calendar month
