Dragon enters the loans business

A Pakistani immigrant from the East End of London, he left school at 16, worked hard and bought his first property in 1980 for 23,000. He sold it two years later for 49,000.

"I couldn't believe I'd doubled my money. I bought another home and that went up in value and then I started buying them to let and later moved into commercial property," says the 49-year-old James.

Mindful that not everyone has his Midas touch and entrepreunerial flair, he has invested in a loan scheme that gives first timers and other cash-poor homebuyers and sellers a leg up on the property ladder.

The Dragons Den star is offering interest-free loans of up to 50,000 to help pay for stamp duty costs, legal fees and HIPs through the property portal he part-owns Look4aProperty.com.

The loans, repayable at a monthly rate over three years, are available through estate agents registered with the site and the first to offer them in the north is Sheffield-based Blundells.

James, who was in Sheffield last week to help Blundells promote the product, says: "This scheme gets rid of those financial obstacles which are holding up the housing market.

"This means that thousands of people who have been putting off moving or buying their first home can now climb up the property ladder without further delays.

"I've met people today who have been helped by our loans, which is wonderful.

"I'd like to see the Government do more to stimulate the property market. Real estate is the heart of our economy."

He keeps a close eye on property and has invested in bricks and mortar for years

"Property is something I have always invested in.

"It's a long term investment and it isn't as volatile as stocks and shares."

He is one of the few investors who haven't suffered from a fall in values over the past couple of years after cannily selling his portfolio just before the credit crunch bit and the market fell into a black hole.

"I had quite a large property portfolio that I had accumulated over the years but we thought the market was over- excited and we sold everything in early 2007.

"Timing is everything in business," he says.

That kind of instinct helped him become a favourite on Dragon's Den and earned him a 70m fortune.

It has also told him to start buying and he's now actively looking for commercial and residential property.

"I think we've seen the bottom of the market.

"My feeling is prices will be stable in 2010 with some positive growth in 2011.

"If you have cash in the bank it's earning two and a half per cent interest while commercial property is giving an eight or nine per cent return then it's a no-brainer."

He is also buying land and developing his own residential sites.

"There's a shortage of housing in this country and the market is starting to pick up so we are building to sell and to let," he says."

His investment team is buying all over the country, including his home city of London.

He has lived in the city almost all his life after arriving at the age of two from Lahore with his parents and three brothers and three sisters.

His father Abdul Rashid Khan, a leather worker, started his own textile business and was keen for his son to join him.

But James declined, found he had a flair for headhunting and made his first fortune with his own recruitment company.

He also changed his name from Nazim Khan to James Caan (like the Hollywood actor) saying it was a great opener with potential clients.

Since founding his private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw in 2004, he has invested in 43 fledgling companies including Look4property.

He promises more property innovations to add to his loan scheme but in the meantime he advises house hunters to buy right.

"There's no big secret to success with property.

"You just need to follow the golden rules, which are buy for the long term and location, location, location.

Just over a year ago when London prices were ailing, he bought a six-storey townhouse in the heart of Mayfair for 4.2m.

He has already nearly doubled his investment. The building is now valued at 7.5m to 8m.

"Whenever I have bought in a good location it has paid off," he says.

"Whenever I haven't made money it's because I picked the wrong spot."

For more information about the property loans contact Blundells at www.blundells.com or check the details on www.look4property.com