“At 17, a rejection lit a fire that’s never gone out.”
At 17, I received a letter from Middlesbrough Football Club telling me I wouldn’t be making it as a professional footballer. Seven years on the books, making the reserves, and then nothing. It was one of the worst days of my life. But it was also the day I decided that no one would ever tell me I couldn’t succeed again. That resolve has driven everything I’ve done since.
My route into financial services wasn’t straightforward. I began in shipping, working for the Port Authority, studying for my Master of Business Administration (MBA) alongside long night shifts. Then, at 28, with a new house, a doubled mortgage, and a one-year-old child, I stared out at cranes working at 3am and thought: “I don’t want to do this anymore.” My wife thought I’d lost the plot. I joined Britannic Assurance and never looked back.
In 2010, I co-founded Money Matters, which grew into one of the North East’s most respected Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) practices – built entirely on referrals, with no advertising, no marketing campaigns, just results. That says everything. When clients send someone your way because they trust you with their financial future, that’s the only measure that matters.
Trust is central to everything I do, and I’m clear that it works both ways. Every client who comes to me arrives because someone they know vouches for us. That trust is already there before we’ve even met, and my job is to protect that.
Over a career spanning more than 30 years, I’ve helped clients sell businesses, plan for retirement, and build real financial freedom – the kind that means choices. I’ve sat with clients who had no idea they were in a strong position and helped them see it clearly. That moment, when someone realises they can stop worrying and start living, is what gets me out of bed in the mornings. As one client put it to me after selling her business: “The journey was a lot more exciting than the end.” She was right – and I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a lot of those journeys.
That same determination that was lit by a rejection letter at 17 is what I bring to every client relationship today. I’ve had nothing and I’ve had success, and I know which position I’d rather help people reach. If you’re looking for an adviser who’s been tested, stayed honest, and genuinely cares about changing people’s lives, I’d love to have that conversation.
Outside of work, I’m a Newcastle United season ticket holder, a keen golfer, and I still play walking football – proof, perhaps, that old habits die hard.
