IF Adam Thorpe is not yet a tycoon, then the 29-year-old Harrogate-based property whizz is pretty close to it.

His Superior Stay organisation has amassed 30 apartments, mostly in the Harrogate area, enough to satisfy a burgeoning demand from well-off business people seeking a luxurious apartment to stay in rather than a hotel.

Combined with property development revenue – he buys, renovates and sells – his venture last year turned over £2.4 million.

And that is likely to grow this year, if he and his ten staff pull off a £9 million renovation project in York and a £1.4 million project elsewhere in North Yorkshire.

It is hardly surprising that Adam is targeting both the Young Entrepreneur Of The Year and the Tourism And Hospitality titles in The Press Business Awards 2010. He was only 22, having left Newcastle University with a degree in economics, when he bought his first property with a funding partner. Over the next two years he employed local tradesmen to complete eight conversions of period country homes, and acquired speculative land on which he sought planning consent.

Then came his big break. In a letter to celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, he pitched his business plans for a northern-based concierge plan, to look after wealthy individuals from the north while they were in London.

Adam recalls: “To my amazement he called the next day and we worked together building the business for two years.

“I spent two days a week in London, with the other five days spent running the property interests in Yorkshire. Eventually this formed part of the membership-based offering with his MPW chain, before I made the move back to Yorkshire full time.”

He moved to Harrogate, living in a period townhouse he had bought and converted on The Stray where he set up his property and management business.

Superior Stay was launched in 2002 and it paid off. “Through our provision of one, two and three-bed apartments, all spacious and stylish service apartments for guests from one night to one year, we have become the first port of call for many local corporate and business users working in Harrogate, Leeds or the surrounding areas.”

Tariffs range from £150 per night to £60, depending how long a stay is negotiated.

Growth, he says, was the product of associating with strong landlords and combining development, design, hotel and finance expertise. One staff member said: “Adam’s always on the move. He doesn’t stop.”