DEVELOPER Michael Hockin describes himself as a visionary, His wife and business partner Diane is inclined to agree but adds he is hopeless with money. It is their combined talents which have resulted in their company London & Westcountry Estates being the success it is today. In the last 21 years it has acquired a total of 13 Business Estates in Devon and Cornwall and has branched out into residential development and even chartering a yacht. From its launch in May 1983 the business has grown from being worth ?28,000 to a cool ?40 million and there are now plans to double it in size again over the next five years. So the business has come from age with its 21st anniversary but it has not been all plain sailing along the way - there was a point when they thought that they might lose it all. "We were staring bankruptcy in the face. It was 1989 at the height of the recession" said Michael. "But we came through it and we were one of the many few who did". Diane added "We had a strategy and we cut back all our overheads and went back to driving the trucks ourselves" Ever resourceful, Michael and Diane survived the crisis and their business interests have gone from strength to strength ever since. By coincidence they celebrated their 21st anniversary by doing what they do best - buying commercial property. The deal to acquire the former Croda premises at Cattedown in Plymouth completed yesterday on exactly the same date London & Westcountry Estates was born. It also marks their daughter Anna Marie's 21st Birthday - Diane was in labour when Michael rushed in to get her signature on the documents to buy their first venture - Sugar Mill Business Park in Plymouth. Because of all the coincidences it seemed fitting to choose a special name for the new acquisition. Michael explained: Our son james and his partner have just had a baby, Grace, so we have decided to call the site Grace Mill. The site will be developed like all their others, into seperate units to lease to growing businesses. Looking back, it is all a far cry from the days when Michael started his working life as a ?2 a week Devonport Dockyard Apprentice. The he and a colleague pooled their resources of ?25 each to set up a business called MYAM Properties.