Ex-Pizza Delivery Boy's Company Is Now Worth Over £1 Billion

An ex-pizza delivery boy has transformed his life, and now runs a sportswear company that is worth over £1 billion ($1.3bn).

Ben Francis, from Birmingham, was just 19 when he came up with the idea for Gymshark, running the company out of his parents' garage while studying and working at Pizza Hut.

But nine years on from the company's formative days, it is one of the biggest sports brands around.

The entrepreneur recently sold a 21 percent stake in Gymshark's to US private equity firm General Atlantic, in a bid to expand even further.

Announcing the deal on his Instagram account, the 28-year-old said: "I never thought I'd post this but, Gymshark is a £1BILLION+ company!

"Now, we take it to the next level - my dream is for this to be one of the greatest brands on the planet.

"I'm really excited to announce that Gymshark has partnered with General Atlantic to help expand this brand even more quickly than ever before. I'm so excited for this next step in the Gymshark journey."

The company now boasts 499 staff, with offices all over the world, including Hong Kong and the US.

Ben says he has always been at the forefront of social media to help grow his company, with a huge input from 'influencers'.

He told the BBC: "We were one of the first businesses in the world to sponsor influencers.

"Equally, we were one of the first businesses to really double down and invest in social media."

And while many firms have struggled in recent months because of the coronavirus pandemic, Ben says Gymshark has actually enjoyed some success.

He went on: "Commercially, it's been quite good in the sense that people are shopping more online and people are running, cycling and doing home workouts more than ever before."

And he said he will allow himself to celebrate this new milestone by having a slight lie in.

Adding: "I will have this weekend off.

"I cannot remember the last time I was up any later than 05:30 or 06:00 so tomorrow morning, I will have a lie in, for one, and I will walk my dog and just chill out."

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom