Toby Ash: New Heights

Toby Ash
Age: 34
Company: New Heights

Frustrated at the predominance of flat-pack furniture on the high street when kitting out his pad, Toby Ash and co-founder Gareth Williams started up New Heights in 1999 with the help of £750,000 from private investors in order to sell quality wooden furniture on the high street. Since then the duo who met at Oxford have gone from strength to strength opening 8 stores in the UK and projected turnover of £10m for the current year.

2016 update:

New Heights grew to 18 stores across the UK before cementing its market leading position with the acquisition of Sofa Workshop’s rival chain of 34 stores in 2006. The company became a victim of the financial crash in 2008 and went into administration. Ash went on to become business development director of Newhaven Group, a £40m, 50-store retail chain, for two years. From 2008 to 2014, he was strategic director of Nixon Design. For the last few years he has been heavily involved in a variety of charitable causes including UNICEF-backed ACTED and ShelterBox projects in response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the earthquake in Nepal.