Larkin out

Hull is like a magnet, says David Prescott, who was ‘pulled back’ to the city to launch his own PR consultancy in January 2020. He tells Sam Hawcroft it was the best thing he ever did… David Prescott was born four days after his father, John, was first elected to the seat of Hull East in June 1970 – and his very first memory of him concerns a stick of celery. “I must have been about two, and he...

A sound career choice

Howard Young started his audio production career in the USA – now he’s hitting the heights of Hollywood from his boutique studio near Hull. By Sam Hawcroft. Like many young people who aspired to a specialism in the creative arts a few decades ago, Howard Young was told to get a proper job when he left school in 1989 – so he became a joiner. But it wouldn’t be long before his entrepreneurial...

Keeping it in the family

Many industries have gone through turbulent times in the past few decades, and the housebuilding sector has navigated its fair share of ups and downs. For the close-knit family team at Risby Homes, keeping developments small-scale and not trying to compete with the big players has been the key to their success as the firm approaches its 30th anniversary. The company was established in Beverley...

Life begins at 40

After starting his career at Hull heraldic arts firm Beaulah’s and going on to work for major design agencies in Leeds and London, surrealist artist Paul Sowden soon realised he wanted to build his own empire – so he returned to his home city and set up a design consultancy. In 1982, this was pretty pioneering – Hull may be awash with all manner of creative communications firms now, but that...

The offshore entrepreneur

Running not just one, but two businesses while working on an offshore oil rig for weeks at a time would sound like an impossible task – but Dan Giblin is a man who likes a challenge. He set up the Rolling Pin in Hedon with his brother-in-law Craig Morgan in 2017, and then came up with the idea for Rent and Borrow Stuff during the early stages of lockdown in 2020. The former is a busy bakery in...