“Property is a subject that fascinates me,” he says. “I first became switched on to it when I was 17 and James Redmond, who now plays Abs in Casualty, put me in touch with a financial adviser. He explained to me the nuts and bolts of investment — things like how mortgages work and tax — and as a result I bought my first place, which was a £140,000 flat in a converted school in Wanstead. When I made money on that deal, I was hooked.”

Lucy refuses to say how much he made on his subsequent investments. But as residential property appreciated by about 114% in London (130% in Essex) in the years 1997-2004, according to HBOS, he must have made a considerable sum. After selling in Wanstead he bought in Snaresbrook, Islington, Chigwell, Camden and Putney. At present he lives in his Chigwell property and lets the other four. How does he find time to manage his portfolio? “I use brokers,” he says. “That means I pay an initial £10,000 fee and the brokers negotiate a 20% multi-purchase discount from the property developers. They pass on the discount to the clients by paying the deposit and the stamp duty but they keep what’s left over — typically 2% to 4%.

“That works fine for me. It means I don’t have to find 15% deposit on a flat and I don’t waste time finding solicitors and looking for the best mortgage deals. Cutting out the middlemen covers the brokers’ fees.”

Lucy’s next property buy is to be a pair of two-bedroom apartments on Crest Nicholson and WestCity’s site at Whitelands Park, Putney. This 399-home development is being built on the site of the former Whitelands College, which was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. When it’s finished in 2007 it will be a 13-acre gated community of town houses and apartments — some of which will be in the conversion of Scott’s 19th-century Grade II-listed Italianate villa. A quarter of the scheme is allocated for affordable and key worker housing.

When they are launched in spring 2005, two-bed apartments will cost £325,000, one-bed apartments will be from £265,000 and town houses will be from £699,950. Lucy says: “When I last invested in new-build I bought in the third phase of development and missed out on the steep appreciation you get in the early stages. This time I’m going to get in right at the beginning. I’ll rent out both apartments for about a year and then move into one of them myself.”

Despite concern about the state of the London market, Lucy says: “I’m thinking long-term. If you look at figures of how areas performed during the last property recession you’ll see that Putney held up pretty well. You’re also underestimating the demand for property in the southeast. People still want to live in London and the suburbs and where there’s demand, you’re bound to find buyers — if you sell at a sensible price.”

On a rainy November day in south London, doesn’t Lucy hanker for the overseas market? “I’d absolutely love to own abroad, it’s just a matter of where,” he says. “I’ve got friends in Marbella and I like it there but I think I’d prefer Italy. I hear there’s a lot of investment potential in Italy. The food’s great; the wine’s better. I could see myself growing old and fat there.”

Whitelands Park, 0870 300 2722, www.whitelandspark.co.uk

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