Graham's career in property began with a bricklaying apprenticeship straight from secondary school, giving him a foundation in construction that most deal sourcers simply do not have. He progressed through running his own contracting business and delivering residential builds across the full lifecycle before retaining as a gas and electrical engineer to extend his direct control over refurbishments. He has trained with established figures in the industry and worked alongside two mentors to develop a structured understanding of deal sourcing, deal packaging, and creative finance strategies.
Connor brings over 15 years of professional project management experience, including oversight of large-scale commercial developments with contract values reaching up to £100 million. His background provides Mac Properties with the operational and managerial discipline required to execute deals at scale, managing timelines, contractors, and delivery to the standard that institutional-level projects demand. Based in Desertmartin, Mid-Ulster, Connor anchors the execution side of the business.
Why we started Mac Properties
The vision was never just to do deals. It was to build a structured, repeatable model that could grow into a serious property business, and ultimately a legacy for our families.
Between us we bring a combination of practical construction knowledge and large-scale project management experience that is genuinely rare in the property sourcing space. That positioned us not only to build our own portfolio but to work with investors in a way that actually protects their capital, because we understand the full cost of a project before an offer is made.
The gap we identified in the market was clear. A large number of people enter property, particularly during rising markets, without the necessary experience in construction, refurbishment, or deal analysis. The result is consistent and avoidable: overpaying for assets, underestimating refurbishment costs, and eroding profit or creating outright loss. Mac Properties was built to address that problem directly, by bringing real construction knowledge, disciplined acquisition strategy, and operational control into every deal we touch.
Graham's background in construction
Graham's route into property was unconventional by industry standards, but it is exactly the foundation that makes the difference in execution. Starting as a bricklayer gave him a ground-level understanding of how buildings are actually constructed, not just how they appear on a schedule of works or a surveyor's report.
He progressed to running his own bricklaying business, then into full building contracting where he managed projects end to end, covering site preparation, foundations, drainage, structural work, and trade coordination through to completion. This is not theoretical knowledge. It is the kind of understanding that comes from being on site, making decisions under pressure, and being accountable for the finished product.
The 2008 financial crash created a significant setback and forced a period of reassessment. Graham moved to England, worked with a large construction company in London, and returned home with a broader perspective on how structured organisations manage large projects. On returning to Northern Ireland, he made a deliberate decision to add gas and electrical qualifications to his existing skill set. This was a strategic move that reduced reliance on third-party trades during refurbishments, increased margin control, and gave Mac Properties a direct cost advantage over competitors who have to price in subcontracted labour at every stage.
Alongside the practical side, Graham invested in structured property education, working with mentors who helped him develop expertise in deal sourcing, deal packaging, and creative finance strategies including buy, refurbish, refinance, and hold structures. The combination of genuine construction experience and structured investment training is what separates Mac Properties from the majority of sourcing businesses operating in this space.
Where we operate
Both Graham and Connor are based in Mid-Ulster, in Castledawson and Desertmartin respectively. This positions us to operate efficiently across both local markets and the major urban centres of Northern Ireland.
Our primary sourcing focus is Belfast, where we see the strongest combination of rental demand, liquidity, and long-term capital growth potential. We also actively source in Lisburn, Newtownabbey, Derry/Londonderry, and throughout the Mid-Ulster corridor.
While these are our core target areas, we remain open to opportunities in other locations where the deal fundamentals are strong: clear value at entry, solid and demonstrable rental demand, scope for forced appreciation through refurbishment, and a refinance or exit position that makes sense on the numbers.
What this means for investors working with us
When you work with Mac Properties, you are not relying on someone who has attended a weekend course and read a spreadsheet. You are working with operators who can walk a property, assess the structural condition, estimate the refurbishment cost with accuracy, manage the trades, and model the deal correctly from day one.
That operational depth translates directly into better acquisition decisions, tighter cost control during works, and deals that perform closer to the underwriting model rather than drifting from it once execution begins.
We operate with a £500 commitment fee before sourcing begins, a seriousness filter that ensures we allocate our time and resources to investors who are genuinely ready to move. If you are at that stage, register below.