My boss liked me so much he gave me the company
Handed £3.5m f irm over lunch
FOR more than a decade, he dedicated all of his time and effort into producing the world-famous Harris Tweed.
But when he was invited to attend a farewell lunch with the retiring owner of the mill he managed, Alex Lockerby expected only a thank you for his work.
So he was astonished when businessman Brian Haggas handed him ownership of the multi-million-pound company.
Yorkshireman Mr Haggas, 88, owned Kenneth Mackenzie Ltd, the company responsible for running the Stornoway mill which makes more than a third of the world’s Harris Tweed. But out of the blue, he decided to give the £3.5 million-a-year company to his trusted lieutenant.
Mr Lockerby, 66, told The Scottish Mail on
‘I told my wife and she nearly hit the floor’
Sunday the gift was announced at Mr Haggas’s retirement lunch in September.
He said: ‘He simply put a bit of paper in front of me and said, “Look at that”.
‘It said he was handing ownership of the company to me. Then he said, “Show it to your wife now”. I passed it over to my wife and she nearly hit the floor.
‘When you get something like that handed to you, it’s a shock to the system.’
He added: ‘It didn’t sink in at the time, that kind of thing takes a while to sink in. I thought, “I best not make a mess of this”.’
Despite his joy, down-to-earth Mr Lockerby, from Stornoway, confessed that there were no champagne celebrations. He said his family made more of a ‘hoo-ha’ than he had – but he was ‘definitely very happy’. He added that he had worked closely with Mr Haggas since 2006, when the older man took over the mill.
In a farewell letter to staff, Mr Haggas said he was giving his company to Mr Lockerby to prevent it being bought by ‘financial vultures’ who might ‘strip out all the cash, leaving the company bankrupt’.
He added that Harris Tweed was an ‘integral part’ of the Western Isles and should be owned and produced by islanders, with profits staying in the community.
The mill employs 30 people and provides work for 50 weavers, producing about 38 per cent of all Harris Tweed. The fabric is the only cloth governed by an Act of Parliament and is marked with an orb once it is inspected by the Harris Tweed Authority to ensure it meets the required standard.
Mr Lockerby – whose son and grandson also work for the company – said he is relishing the challenge of being sole owner.
He added: ‘It’s life-changing and a huge responsibility overseeing a company that’s 110 years old. I’m custodian of a company that has its own identity.’