Director Clear-Investments | Build to Rent | Specialised In Dealing With High Net Worth Individuals In UK & Internationally

I help investors secure genuine off-market London property with speed, discretion, and clean title — not recycled listings.

Trusted by family offices, HNWIs, and private investors, I specialise in sourcing prime residential and BTR opportunities across Zones 1–3 — from Chelsea to Hampstead — through direct-to-vendor relationships that others rarely access.

My approach is simple: deliver real access and real execution. Every deal is structured with clarity, legal integrity, and investor pace — working closely with trusted lawyers, finance brokers, and planners to make decisions happen fast.

Clients work with me because I value trust over transaction and precision over pressure. Whether it’s a single apartment or a multi-unit block, I’m focused on long-term partnerships, not one-off deals.

Outside of property, I’m a competitive cyclist — and that mindset of discipline, endurance, and focus shapes how I operate in business too.

If you’re allocating capital in London residential property or want boots-on-the-ground sourcing with genuine access, let’s connect.

Iftikhar Ahmed

I’m back after a two-month break from LinkedIn.

And a few things changed while I was away.

First, LinkedIn feels louder than before.
More opinions. More noise. Less depth.

Second, everyone seems to be in a rush to sell something.

Faster pitches. 
Shorter attention. 
Quicker judgments.

And third, genuine conversations feel rarer.
But when they happen, they matter more than ever.

But more than all of that, something else happened.

When I opened LinkedIn after those two months, I saw hundreds of unread messages.

Messages saying:

“Ifti, are you okay?”
“Where did you disappear?”
“Hope everything is fine on your end.”
“LinkedIn doesn’t feel the same without your insights.”

I didn’t expect that.

And that’s when it hit me.

Over the last year, without being loud or trying to impress, I had built something real.

Not just content.
Not just visibility.

A small, loyal community of people who cared beyond the post.

And that means a lot to me.

So yes, I’m back.
But things will be different this time.

This profile won’t be about surface-level updates or chasing attention.

I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned from 25 years on the ground in Central London property,
the realities people don’t talk about,
the decisions that protect reputations,
and the thinking that helps trusted advisors serve their clients better.

I want this space to be about meaningful conversations,

with people who value discretion, long-term thinking, and doing things the right way, even when it’s not the easiest way.

If you believe relationships matter more than transactions, and clarity matters more than noise,

we’ll get along just fine.

Good to be back.

P.S. - How has the new year been treating you so far?

Director Clear-Investments| Scaling London Property Portfolios | Bulk Acquisitions & Bespoke Sourcing for Global HNWIs |

One thing I’ve never negotiated with in my life is my health.

Not when work gets busy.
Not when travel gets hectic.
Not even when the days get long.

For me, staying fit isn’t about looking a certain way. 

It’s about clarity, stamina, and showing up fully, year after year.

Cycling has always helped me with that. 

Some days it’s the only time my mind slows down. 

Over the years, I’ve realised that if you want to stay sharp in your career, especially over decades, your body has to keep up with your responsibilities.

If you don’t take care of it, everything else eventually pays the price, focus, decision-making, even temperament.

I’ve seen many talented people burn out not because they lacked skill, but because they ignored the basics for too long.

For me, fitness is not a break from work.

It’s part of how I stay sharp, grounded, and dependable.

And In my opinion long careers aren’t built on intensity alone.

They’re built on sustainability.

And that starts with taking responsibility for your own health, before anything else.

A few years ago, a senior advisor called me late one evening.

He wasn’t asking for a deal.
He wasn’t asking for numbers.

He said, “Iftikhar, I have a long-standing client. 

Very particular, Very private. I can’t afford to get this wrong.”

I knew exactly what he meant.

When you sit in that position, private banker, wealth manager, family office principal, the risk isn’t just financial.

It’s reputational.

You’re not judged on effort.
You’re judged on outcomes.

And the truth is, most advisors don’t lose clients because they lack intent or intelligence.

They lose them because they were forced to rely on the wrong execution partner at the wrong moment.

-Generic agents.
-Over-promised access.
-Or someone who understood the price but not the responsibility.

In Central London, that margin for error is razor thin.

This is why, over the years, I stopped thinking in terms of “transactions” and started thinking in terms of protection.

-> Protecting the client from bad decisions.
-> Protecting the advisor from uncomfortable explanations.
-> Protecting trust that took decades to build.

That evening, I didn’t show listings.
I didn’t pitch.

I asked questions.
I explained what was realistic, what wasn’t, and where patience mattered more than speed.

That client eventually invested. Quietly and Correctly.

And the advisor kept his relationship intact.

This is the part of the business that rarely gets discussed publicly.
But it’s the part that matters most.

If you’re in a position where your name is attached to every recommendation you make, you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about.

Because in the end, access is important.

But judgement is everything.

What’s the biggest risk you try to protect your clients from, a bad deal or a bad experience?

After all these years, one thing still surprises me.

The most difficult part of this work is not finding opportunities.

It’s knowing when not to act.

Early in my career, I believed speed was an advantage.

Respond quickly. Move fast. Close efficiently.

With time, I learned something different.

The best decisions often come from restraint.

From saying, “Not yet.”
From walking away when something doesn’t feel right, even if it looks good on paper.

When you’re advising people who’ve taken decades to build wealth, haste becomes a liability.

And patience becomes a form of respect.

Some of the strongest relationships I’ve built didn’t start with a transaction.

They started with an honest conversation where the answer was no.

No pressure.
No urgency.
Just clarity.

This approach doesn’t make noise.
But it builds something far more valuable over time, trust.

And trust, in this world, compounds quietly.

There’s something about working with very successful people that no one really tells you.

The money isn’t the hard part.
The emotions are.

When someone has spent decades building wealth, every decision carries history. 

Past wins. 
Past losses. 
Family expectations.
Fear of making a mistake.
Regret. 
Pride. 

And all of that walks into the room with them.

As advisors, we’re often expected to be calm, confident, and certain. 

But behind that, there’s a lot of listening that needs to happen before anything sensible can move forward.

I’ve learned over time that the most important thing you can offer in those moments isn’t a solution.

It’s composure.

The ability to slow things down, to read what isn’t being said, and to know when reassurance matters more than action.

This part of the work doesn’t show up in numbers or reports.

But it’s where trust is either built or quietly lost.

If you’ve ever sat across from someone who had everything to gain and everything to lose, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

One thing that surprises people outside this market is this:

Most Central London deals don’t fall apart at the start.
They fall apart after everyone thinks it’s done.

Price agreed.
Hands shaken.
Client excited.

And then the real work begins.

This is where assumptions surface, expectations clash, timelines stretch, and small misunderstandings quietly turn into big problems.

At this stage, it’s no longer about negotiation skills.

It’s about judgement, patience, and knowing how these situations usually unravel if not handled carefully.

Over the years, I’ve learned that closing a deal is rarely the hardest part.

Protecting it through the final stretch is.

That’s why experience matters most when things slow down, not when they move fast.

Because in this market, confidence is built not on how quickly you agree, but on how calmly you handle what comes after.

P.S- Where do you see deals break down most often, early excitement or late execution?

Everyone talks about off-market property.

Very few understand what it actually means.

In Central London, off-market is not about secrecy or special listings. 

It’s about trust, timing, and long-standing relationships.

Developers don’t “release” inventory quietly by accident. 

They do it because they know 

-> Who can execute
-> Who won’t waste time
-> Who understands the responsibility that comes with introducing the right buyer.

After 25 years on the ground, I’ve learned this:

Access is built long before a deal ever exists.

That’s why relying on generic agents or last-minute sourcing often puts advisors in uncomfortable positions with their best clients.

The real work happens much earlier.

In conversations, credibility, and consistency.

P.S- Do you think off-market is about information, or relationships?

Most difficult conversations in my work don’t start with numbers.

They start when someone says,
“My client wants this… but I’m not sure the market will allow it.”

That gap is where things usually get uncomfortable.

Over the years, I’ve learned that my real role isn’t to push ambition or defend the market. 

It’s to sit calmly in the middle and make sure neither side loses trust in the process.

Clients don’t mind hearing no.
They mind being surprised later.

Advisors don’t mind slowing down.
They mind having to explain things after the fact.

When expectations and reality are aligned early, decisions age well.

They make sense today, and they’re still easy to stand by years later.

That’s the kind of outcome I care about.

Reposting because this one made me smile (and reminded me how many hills I’ve suffered on 😂).

Proof that some of the best professional relationships don’t start in boardrooms — they start in lycra, bad weather, and long conversations halfway up a climb.

Really grateful for the friendship, the miles, the laughs, and the trust that came long before any “business chat” ever did. 🚴‍♂️🤝

Some of the strongest professional relationships start nowhere near an office. 

Mine with Iftikhar Ahmed started on a bike.

We got to know each other through riding for Mearns Cycling Club, where Iftikhar is the club captain, and spending long hours together on the roads. 

What followed was cycling trips overseas, plenty of shared miles, conversations, challenges and laughs.

Over time, that shared passion for cycling and property turned into a genuine friendship. Anyone who cycles knows it has a way of breaking down barriers quickly, you learn a lot about people when you’re suffering on hills together!

At the time, there was no thought of business. But that foundation of trust, respect and shared values eventually made it natural for our paths to cross professionally.

Photo credit: Akbar Mufti 📸

Most of the work I do never shows up in a headline or a listing.

It happens in quiet conversations, usually when someone says,
“I need to get this right.”

At this level, the pressure isn’t about finding something quickly.

It’s about knowing that one wrong move can change how a client looks at you forever.

That’s why I’ve learned to value judgement over speed, and discretion over visibility.

The people I work with aren’t chasing opportunities.

They’re protecting relationships.

And when trust is the real currency, how you move matters just as much as what you deliver.

If you’ve ever felt that weight, you’ll understand exactly why this process exists.

Niall Cleaver

Documenting the journey of crafting a timeless coffee cup brand | CEO & Founder of Cupsly

My story isn’t about a polished entrepreneur. My journey hasn’t been traditional. I left school without an English qualification, uncertain of what the future held. 

That failure shaped me, it forced me to think differently, fall into business, and ultimately embrace creativity, resilience, and the belief that change is possible, even when doubted. Fast forward to today, I’m growing and scaling businesses while sharing the real lessons that come from it.

Founder

Are you struggling to grow an engaging community for your business or personal brand.

Stop right there, I think I have you covered ⬇️

This is me (Niall), I'm a 22-year-old who is fascinated by growing communities in the online space. Actual communities that have meaning and purpose. 

The services we provide at Social Library 

➡️ Personal Branding (LinkedIn)

➡️ Guidance & support consulting


Drop me a message to discuss your social media strategy, review how well your current socials/posts are doing, and research how we can build your community and gain you more followers and leads.

or you can email us @

hello@sociallibrary.co.uk

For years... I thought starting small wasn’t even an option.

This year, I want to start small. You need to read this.

Everyone is so scared to start small and I was one of those people. I used to overthink about creating something big instead of worrying about starting small.

Turns out, starting small is how you build big.

It’s how you take the first step forward.
It’s how you stop overanalysing.
It’s how you actually start.

It almost feels wrong when you say it out loud.

But every successful founder and business you see today didn’t get where they are by massive moves. They got there by starting small and then scaling.

So if you’re starting a business, building a hobby, or whatever it may be… stop worrying about “scaling big” and focus on the small step that gets you going.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

Building vs scaling a business. What's the difference?

A few years ago, I learned one of the most valuable lesson in business. I left school with qualifications that made it hard for me to get any sort of job.

Luckily, my family ran a business. I jumped in and started learning. And here’s what I learned: There’s a huge difference between building and scaling.

Building a business:

Proving the idea
Short-term survival
Doing everything yourself
Energy, speed & scrappiness

Scaling a business:

Letting go of control
Long-term decisions
Patience, systems & people
Making sure it works without you.
Alignment throughout the whole company.

Building feels exciting. Scaling feels uncomfortable. Both are essential. I didn’t realise how different they both were until I lived them.

But the one thing that never changes between both? 
The hard work that comes with it.

I just spent 2 hours yesterday in one of the best meetings of my life!!!

What about? How do we build further on our foundation?

Yesterday was a special day, do you know where you get the team together and you leave feeling excited for what's to come? That's what happened.

It's been a pretty wild couple of months for Thistle, but it always comes back to the same thing. How can we deepen the connection we can have with researchers?

The personal touch.
The real support they deserve.
The professionalism and trust they have in us.

This year, we’re looking at how we double down on that.

We’ve set some big objectives, and the whole team is ready for them. If yesterday was anything to go by, this next phase is going to be an exciting one.

We can't wait to share more on this very soon.

We’re excited to announce our new collaboration.

I'm genuinely proud of the impact we're creating in research at Thistle Scientific. It started with one clear objective to make research the best it can be, not only to impact our lives, but also to impact the lives of generations to come.

Last week was a big reminder of this as we announced our collaboration with arcorisbio AG, which will help accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of their breakthrough MUSE® platform.

A collaboration that will help keep the world safe.

One of the best mistakes I learned pretty quickly in business.

Thinking strategy comes first in business. But it doesn’t… 

Understanding who you’re building for is.

I’m nowhere near successful yet. But I’ve been lucky to spend time around people who definitely are. And one topic comes up over and over again: 

Strategy.

How did you come up with your strategy?
Why has your strategy been effective?
When do you adapt your strategy?

The answer usually sounds complicated.
But, it keeps coming back to one word: audience.

Before you can plan anything, you have to understand them. What do they care about? When do they need to hear from you? How do they feel when they see you show up?

This is where a lot of founders go wrong. No strategy is 100% correct. It’s custom‑made based on how well you understand the information your audience is giving you.

So copying what works in another company or industry rarely works. You’re playing a different game, with different people, at a different stage.

Strategy is an understanding game.

I used to panic hearing the word strategy in business.

It sounded complicated... but it wasn’t.

I would hear the word and be like that sounds proper technical. I'd just nod like I understood exactly what it meant, when I didn't but now I get it and it's simple.

It's just a plan.

What are the objectives?
What action will you take to hit them?
Which data tells you it's working or it isn't?

We love to make words sound more complicated than they are. 

It's easy to overcomplicate things when you hear all of the advice online but it's simpler than you think. If something isn't working don't wait, go and find the reason why.

Try something. Learn. Adapt. Evolve. Repeat.
Just enjoy the process of figuring out.

That's what business is!

When I was younger, I hesitated on the idea of working for my family business.

Today, I’m 3 years in, working alongside nearly 50 incredible people.

It’s crazy how life works. Some days you’re completely against something before you’ve even tried it…then you try it and realise it was exactly what you were meant to do.

I always had this doubt in the back of my head:
That I had to prove myself somewhere else first.

That’s why:

- I started posting on LinkedIn.
- I kept looking for “my own thing”.
- I started learning more about business.

Now it feels like all of that happened so I could come back better and help continue to grow a business I genuinely care about. But this growth has hardly been me. It’s been the team I get to work with every single day.

A few things this has taught me:

- Don’t write something off until you’ve actually tried it.
- You can prove yourself elsewhere, but always bring the knowledge back

So don't resist an opportunity just because it didn't fit your picture in that specific moment of your life. It might be worth taking a closer look.

Stop listening to too much advice.

Read that again... throughout my journey, I've fallen for many distractions. Stuff that didn't feel right personally, and so many of us are going through this.

There's advice here, there and everywhere.

And it's very hard to know which is the right or wrong advice, and you know what you'll never really know. The only way to find out is to...

Listen to your gut and try.

In a world full of advice after advice, trust yourself first. 
There's no right or wrong way to do anything.

If it works, it works!

P.S. Have a little day in the life vid

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The Battle

Iftikhar Ahmed

Niall Cleaver

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The Battle

Iftikhar Ahmed

Niall Cleaver

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Iftikhar Ahmed's LinkedIn Performance

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