Jo Gray and business partner Jeff Ovens, both from Britain, are unfazed by slowing sales in Hong Kong's housing market and the continuing turmoil in global financial markets.
On the contrary, they are actively on the prowl for potentially rich pickings in one of the most unlikely segments in the city's property market - so-called Chinese buildings, or decades-old, low-rise and walk-up residential blocks, most of which have no lifts.
'We see rising demand here for spacious flats, renovated to European standards and which provide character, so that a homeowner can go home at the end of the day to relax and unwind. These qualities are often missing in flats in newly-built, high-rises,' said Gray, a retail fashion and homeware specialist.
Gray and Ovens, an engineer, moved to Hong Kong from London to practice their professions, as well as dabble in property investments - specifically flats in old buildings which they renovate for lucrative returns. In the past few years, they have achieved double-digit profits from old flats that they bought in Central and Mid-Levels, renovated to European standards and sold at a premium - a practice known as 'flipping'.
However, a series of government-initiated, anti-speculation measures - aimed at curbing booming property prices - have virtually halted flipping activities in the city. More stringent bank lending has also curtailed activities of short-term players.
The two are now looking instead to buy and hold high-yielding properties even as they continue regenerating and breathing new life into the flats of clients of their firm, Grovens Living, a Hong Kong-based boutique interior design, renovation and construction company.