Kitchens, or Sink

A business memoir and manual from Matthew Ingle, the founder of Howdens.

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When the chips are down you have to step forward, speak up and take action – or sink.

Matthew Ingle, Yorkshire born and bred, left school in 1971 with four O levels. He went to work at a timber yard in Huddersfield, before joining the management training programme at Magnet. When he was made redundant in 1994, he had an idea for a business, jotted down on a single sheet of paper but no name, no products, no buildings and no backers. Howdens was founded in 1995, and today is a FTSE 100 company with 10,000 staff, sales of over £2 billion and a royal warrant. This is the story of how he got there: the highs and lows, the disasters turned to triumphs, the unsung heroes and the grafters – and the no-nonsense business principles that guided him along the way.

Kitchens, or Sink weaves memoir with business insight, telling us a great deal about the state of manufacturing in the UK, how Matthew learned to turn setbacks into opportunities and established the standards he set for himself and his workforce. This is an honest and uplifting story, which also offers sound and pragmatic advice to anyone starting their own business.