Talent Biography
Sarah Willingham
Sarah Willingham is one of the youngest, most successful entrepreneurs in the high street food and leisure industry. She was recently acknowledged by Management Today and The Times as one of the “35 most successful women under 35” in the UK. In 2007, she was voted as Business Weekly’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2007, one of the “Courvoisier Top 500”, “Who’s Who in British Business Leaders 2007” and British Telecom’s “Spokesperson for Small Business Growth 2008”.
Having spent the early years of her career managing some of the biggest household names in high street restaurants – opening over 50 Planet Hollywood and Pizza Express restaurants all over the world, Sarah decided to go it alone. She successfully raised the finance to buy The Bombay Bicycle Club in 2004, and turned a heavily loss making business of 6 restaurants into a profitable group of 17, establishing the largest chain of Indian restaurants in the UK. She sold the business successfully in 2007. “I know so many people who say they are sick of their job and they know what they want to do, but they don't do anything about it," she says. “but I knock on doors as if they should open."
Over the last few years Sarah has also established herself as a television presenter and business expert for the BBC and most people will know her from “The Restaurant” on BBC2.
Born in Stoke, she went to school in Newcastle and is very proud of her northern, working class roots, positive upbringing and work ethic. She was brought up in a close family, the daughter of a maths teacher and a father who ran his own business and has worked since the age of 11 when she did her first paper round. Sarah says, "They brought me up with no boundaries or walls and taught me to believe I could achieve what I wanted. I was very lucky in that my parents were the ones who made the really big leaps in life, and it's their story, which is my inspiration. "
After leaving school, Sarah completed two business degrees at Oxford Brookes University and the Sup de Co business school in La Rochelle, France.
In 2004, Sarah also co-established her own AIM listed company, Neutrahealth plc which has since acquired six businesses in the fast growing Nutraceutical industry.
Sarah continued as plc board director of The Clapham House Group where she was responsible for three of their four brands; Tootsies, The Real Greek and The Bombay Bicycle Club, over 50 restaurants and more than 1500 employees.
In April 2008, Sarah decided to return to her entrepreneurial roots and set up a private equity firm in the UK where her focus remains in high street consumer facing businesses. She is now in the process of further fund raising, having secured the funds for the first acquisition. She is also working on a number of other business ventures and just become patron for “The Taste Of Staffordshire” promoting food from her home town.
She lives in the countryside with her Danish husband, Michael who she met whilst studying and they have three young children – Minnie, Monti and Nelly. Family is everything to her and she makes sure that her work never compromises her family life or relationship, describing herself as “OCD about not being OCD” she is obsessive about being flexible and enjoying everything she does!
Contact: Kate Douglas
