I want to tell you about what may be my most shocking investment yet and my reasoning behind it. I invest in a lot of things, and often it makes sense to buy something that is a mess and to improve it. For example, when you do a buy, refurbish, refinance deal you find the worst, rundown property around and do it up. When Elon Musk bought Twitter it wasn’t doing well but Musk could see the potential. This investment is very much in that league, something grotty that could be something good with a little work.
I have bought 35% ownership in Property Tribes. Yes, that Property Tribes. The online landlords' forum where I have been the target of trolling and harassment; the place where people have discussed how to discriminate against tenants because of their skin colour; and the place where Community Manager, Vanessa Warwick, advised a landlord on how not to get caught being racist. In this article, I will explain why I have decided to tell you about this investment and the good I intend to do with it.
1. Why I am telling you about this investment now.
I wasn’t intending to announce this investment, but rather just use my influence behind the scenes. A lot of my investments and deals are done that way. It can be useful to showcase some things, but other things are better done privately. However, Vanessa Warwick of Property Tribes recently did an interview with a lawyer where he brought up my investment in the company (you can watch the interview here).
Hilariously, Warwick knew absolutely nothing about my investment in Property Tribes despite always telling other people to do their due diligence. She really isn’t someone that should be giving property advice to anyone! Because this is now public knowledge, I thought it would be a good idea to make my plans a bit more open.
2. How I intend to do good with this investment.
I only own 35% of the company so I can’t go in and change their moderation policies, but I can make sure my share of the profits are used for good. Property Tribes allow posts that discuss how to discriminate against people based on their race. But my share of their profits will be going to help stop online hate.
Any profits that I get from this deal will go towards Stop Hate UK, a charity that fights hate speech and hate crime. Part of what they do is to take legal action against people who harass others online on the basis of their identities such as their race, sexual orientation and transgender status.
3. £50,000 donation to stop hate in the UK.
As well as giving my share of the profits to Stop Hate UK, I will also be giving £50,000 on top of that to charities fighting hate in the UK. We need to take a stand and say there is no place for discrimination in the property industry or anywhere else.
If we stand together, we can help to stop the types of attitudes Vanessa Warwick and others exemplify. Together, let's work to end hate in the UK and beyond.
