Dr Tom Lever
Founder & Managing Director
Orange Property Group MD Tom Lever is a man on a mission, to change the worlds of construction and property for the better. A natural entrepreneur, Tom has been in the world of business since the age of 12, managing events and running teams by 15 and at 18, successfully selling a company. Across his late teens and 20s, his life reads like a film script: a humbling trip to hospitals in Kerala; funding his way through med school; recovering from an auto-immune condition; setting up To-Jo, a successful experiential marketing company for the automobile industry; surviving a car crash (over a cliff) that broke almost every bone in his body; enduring three years of physical therapy and reconstructive surgeries on his pelvis, legs, spine, even his eyes; selling To-Jo; and finally, after 10 years, emerging from med school with his GP qualifications. Using funds from the sale of To-Jo Tom moved into property development and was swiftly disappointed with the attitudes he found there. Deciding he could – and would – do better, he established Orange Property Group with a clear focus on Care, both for clients and for staff.
His reputation quickly grew. Architects, landlords, letting agents, property maintenance companies and private and commercial customers were drawn to the high standards of respect and integrity he and his team set. Orange Property is now one of the most successful, sought-after property companies in the South East, generating consistent year-on-year growth. Tom has completed dozens of development projects in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors, his highly skilled workforce including award-winning MCIOB chartered builders allowing them to work on heritage, listed buildings as well as new build sites. With a Property Services division on call 24/7 for new and repeat clients, including his own properties, Tom quite literally puts his money where his mouth is.
In an industry where staff retention is low and the suicide rate is highest, Tom’s workforce receive free counselling, private GP appointments, physio, training and development. Tom works closely with charities Sussex Nightstop and the Construction Youth Trust. The majority of his staff donate money to charity, which he matches pound for pound. And on top of all this, Tom still finds time in his week for his GP work, with a keen interest in helping those with chronic pain access healthier lifestyles and wellness models for a much better quality of life. Whatever he does, wherever he turns his attention, one thing is clear: Care is very much at the heart.
