In good Nick! £150m boss makes Rich List
Just Go! Holidays is a UK leader in the provision of group tours and holidays carrying in excess of 70,000 passengers annually.
BUSINESSMAN Nick Glynne has made the Yorkshire Rich List for the first time despite the pressures of Covid-19 that have ravaged businesses across the region.
Mr Glynne, from Huddersfield, the brains behind Buy It Direct, now boasts a worth of over £150m after setting up his firm with just £3,500.
Originally working as a TV documentary maker before moving into business, Mr Glynne bought the Fartown-based computer shop Easycom more than 20 years ago for the bargain sum of only £3,500.
In the two decades since then, the group’s name has changed and profits have soared as have the number of companies it now includes within its portfolio, such as Appliances Direct, Laptops Direct, Furniture 123, Better Bathrooms, Drones Direct and Servers Direct.
Speaking to Insider Media back in 2019, he said: “I suppose business was the language at home. I felt as a kid that my destiny was to be in business.
“The environment at home was creative, with us being encouraged to have ideas.”
Both his mother and father were actively involved in the business sector, with his father owning substantial Castleford clothing company Castletex – until it went bust – and his mother owning a travel agency.
His education is also thought to have played a big part, having swapped a business degree at Edinburgh University part way through in favour of a degree in social anthropology. It’s the latter which saw him live with native tribes in North America and with religious communities in Israel.
“It reinforced that entrepreneurial side of my life which is that just because something is so, doesn’t mean you can’t be disruptive and change things,” he explained in the same interview.
Buy It Direct’s growth strategy – underpinned by acquiring companies in distress – has proven to be effective, with both its net worth and customer base steadily continuing to increase year on year.
The company also offered a huge boost to the local community by way of jobs and fostering new young talent.
They even took on 26 apprentices in a single day back in 2018, a huge milestone for any budding entrepreneurs hoping to follow in
Mr Glynne’s footsteps.
The firm’s rise to success hasn’t been without its own controversy however, with the retailer having been hit with criticism from the Advertising Standards Agency for implying savings were greater than they were back in 2019.
Speaking at the time, Mark Kelly, the marketing manager for Buy It Direct, said: “We’re a business focused on sourcing the best possible deals for our customers and electriQ represents real value for our customers.
“It’s a shame that the ASA have decided to focus on a single pricing error on our website without understanding that as a business we sell tens of thousands of products.” “As soon as we spotted the error it was rectified.” The company also struggled last year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, when multiple staff were forced to isolate at home, following an outbreak of the virus at the company.
Despite this set back, the business shows no signs of slowing down, with turnover still on the rise and profits having cemented Mr Glynne’s place as number 64 on this year’s Yorkshire Rich List.
I felt as a kid that my destiny was to be in business