MARCUS Gilmore has achieved a lot in his 30 years. Introduced to real estate at age 19, he gained a strong grounding in the industry while working as a research analyst and later in commercial sales. In 2000, he set up a specialist project-marketing group to affect the sale of city and near-city residential properties. His career reached new heights when in 2003 he became a divisional director of residential project marketing for Savills plc, and at age 27 secured an exclusive franchise from the renowned agency. Buying the franchise did not come easily, however, with Mr Gilmore losing his business partner in the deal at the very last moment. After taking four days off to go fishing, he decided to plough ahead on his own. The key lesson he learned from this situation was not to be afraid to take a risk. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it without him, but if you back yourself and work hard then you can achieve anything,” he said. Operating the Savills franchise gave him the confidence to strike out under his own name and establish MLG Property Group in early 2005. Within 12 months the company has grown from a handful of staff to employing 20 people in Perth, London and Phuket. Together with a programmer, Mr Gilmore has designed a web-based program where property developers can access all information, contracts and reports online in real time. MLG has become a “one stop shop” for property buyers with divisions specialising in residential and commercial sales, property management, home loan and development finance and overseas markets.
