You can't bank on riverside living, says Secret Millionaire as he sells up for family life in north London

By Mark Anstead
Last updated at 3:01 PM on 07th December 2009

IT entrepreneur Dominic List puts Thameside apartments on the market as he plans family home with his Brazilian girlfriend in Belsize Park.

Two months ago, record numbers tuned in to Channel 4's Secret Millionaire and saw entrepreneur Dominic List donate £50,000 of his own money to make a difference for young people on the troubled streets of Peckham, South-East London.

Viewing figures nudged over three million as 35-year-old Dominic, who owns an IT business worth an estimated £10million, was seen selecting three local causes for his money - a youth club, a project teaching motor engineering and an unemployed man who badly needed to relocate his family.

Dominic List and girlfriend

Moving on: Dominic List and girlfriend Andriele are selling their Butler's Wharf flat

Dominic had never visited Peckham before, even though the area lies just three miles from his luxury Thameside apartment in Butler's Wharf.

But now, having done his bit of local philanthropy, he wants to sell his flat, as well as two others he lets further along the river, so he can relocate to North London.

The main reason for the impending change of scene is Dominic's 30-year-old girlfriend, Brazilian model Andriele Franco.

The pair met two years ago and now, with an eye to their future, Dominic wants to pull out of riverside living in search of family homes in Belsize Park.

And he says he is bitterly disappointed with the small returns he has made on property south of the river.

'When I first bought in Canada Water eight years ago, I swallowed the hype about regeneration and that the area would soon develop a buzz,' he says.

'There was a lot of talk about the growing importance of Canary Wharf as a business centre. It is just across the river from my flats and I have great views of it.

'I was told a new bridge would be built crossing the river at that point and there would be new cycle paths, but none of that ever materialised.

'Today, I think Butler's Wharf is far better - I have great views of Tower Bridge and it has a superior village feel. But now that Andriele and I are thinking seriously about our future, we feel it's time to buy a home in a family area. This was never going to be a long-term stop.'

Dominic List and girlfriend flat in Butler's Wharf

Room with a view: With brilliant views of Tower Bridge, Dominc's flat is on the market for £850,000

Dominic's business, Comtact Ltd, specialises in helping companies get the most out of converging voice and data communication. His astonishing financial success has been relatively recent - after a few false starts, he established his company just four years ago.

After graduating from Plymouth University in 1997, Dominic spent three years in mobile-phone sales and then moved to London in 2000, initially renting in Kennington.

He joined a company starting call centres for corporate clients and the following year bought his first two-bedroom flat in the newly completed Lawrence Wharf, in Rotherhithe, for £220,000.

In 2003, Dominic made his first leap into his own business, offering telecoms and IT consulting.

He teamed up with a wealthy partner, who injected initial start-up capital in return for a 70 per cent controlling stake, and then he bought another penthouse flat in Lawrence Wharf for £250,000, moving in and letting his other one.

Within a year, it looked as if Dominic had it made - through his valuable blue-chip contacts, he was able to grow business sales to £2.4million a year.

In 2004, he celebrated and bought his luxury two-bed apartment in Butler's Wharf for £630,000, finding tenants for his penthouse.

But in 2005, everything turned sour - Dominic didn't feel that his partner was properly supporting him and after a sharp dispute they agreed to go their separate ways.

The pair clashed over the value of the company and, as a minority shareholder, Dominic had to accept just £30,000 for his stake.

'I learned a lot from that experience,' he says. 'I was a fool to take so much on trust and I got my fingers burned.

'But still when I wanted to start another business, I felt insecure and wanted to find a partner - my dad had to persuade me to go it alone and I'm glad I listened to him. I now own 100 per cent of a very successful business.'

Dominic List and girlfriend flat in Butler's Wharf

City life: Dominic bought the two-bedroom flat in 2004 for £630,000 but is selling up for a new life north of the river

Dominic List and girlfriend flat in Butler's Wharf

At last, Dominic is living his dream, driving a £120,000 Lamborghini Spyder and regularly jetting to sunny holidays with Andriele.

In February, he splashed out on a weekend home in Christchurch, Dorset, buying a five-bedroom detached house a stone's-throw from the beach for £495,000, and he has since spent £70,000 improving it.

Until now, Dominic's main strategy with property has been to slowly build up a portfolio of flats to hold and let - an approach he borrowed from his father, also an entrepreneur.

But now Dominic is planning to put all three of his flats on the market, asking £385,000 for each flat in Rotherhithe and £850,000 for the one in Butler's Wharf.

'Holding on to a former home works well in a rising market because there are generous capital gains tax concessions on property that was your main residence,' he says.

'But with most of my wealth tied up in my company and the market flat, I have decided to sell them all to be able to afford a decent house in Belsize Park.

'I am working to an initial budget of £1.5million, which will get me only a small house but I am hoping to get the best possible price for my flats because the market lacks stock and demand is quite high.'

Chris Lee, manager at Felicity J. Lord Shad Thames branch, disagrees that Canada Water has not lived up to expectations.

According to Chris, the main reason Dominic's two flats in Rotherhithe have not done better is because they are in the least popular development in the area.

'Lawrence Wharf has never seen big increases in value,' he says. 'It was one of the first developments and the flats aren't as impressive as those you can buy in other blocks - they are very small and most buyers tell us they avoid them.

'The area has always been cheaper than Butler's Wharf but prices have generally done equally well. There are some two-bedroom flats near Dominic's that were selling at under £200,000 in 2001 and are now fetching £475,000, so he's been unlucky.

'He'll do better with his apartment in Butler's Wharf. This year was our best-ever summer for transaction volumes and, thanks to high demand, prices are now back to 2007 levels.'