Window shopping

The shambles surrounding this summer’s exams triggered only one memory for Andrew Fox – after he took his GCSEs he didn’t even bother to collect the results. It wasn’t that he feared failure – he still has no idea how he fared. It’s just that by the age of 16 he was already working and didn’t want to stop. “I was very stubborn,” he recalls. “I wanted instant income. People have their own...

Top 20 most inspirational business leaders in Hull and East Yorkshire

In her own admission, Claire Clark isn’t the most well-known business leader around these parts. “Someone might read this and think, I’ve heard of all these other people – who’s this? But it shows that it's about people who inspire others, and it’s not necessarily about ‘well-known’ leaders; it’s about people like myself just working hard, trying to make a difference, for now and for the...

Business ‘helper’ shares stories from 40 years of high-fliers – and a few flops

At 71, David Hall says his fifth book, Telling Tales, will be his last. He compiled it from a “series of blogs” because he hopes it will assist businesses with their Covid-19 survival plans. He also wrote it because he received the blessing of so many people who have built and developed major businesses – including Keepmoat, MKM and Sewell Group – after drawing on his expertise. Keepmoat claims...

Hull’s leading gin exponents up for national tourism award

Hotham’s recently celebrated its second birthday, having launched its Hull Gin School in July 2018. The brand enjoyed almost immediate success, thrilling both locals and critics alike with its expertly crafted gins and vodkas. England’s tourism awards champion the very best of the country’s tourism industry, celebrating quality, innovation and best practice. The annual awards cycle begins with a...

Getting back into the swing of things.

What’s your professional background and what made you decide to set up PlayPro? We actually had no previous experience of running a business. I was a production manager of a document scanning company and Jimmy was a project leader at Siemens. So it wasn't a pre-planned thing. We had been friends since school and were losing touch slightly so we decided to have a catch-up at a local driving...