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Mark Dixon left school at 16 and began selling hot dogs before building a bread roll business. In 1989 he founded Regus, spotting the need for flexible offices after watching people hold meetings in coffee shops. From a single site in Brussels, he grew the business into IWG — now the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace, with thousands of locations in more than 120 countries. Along the way he faced fierce competition and survived the dotcom crash. Mark speaks to Evan Davis about his jo...
Tom Beahon played youth football for Tranmere Rovers from the age of eight, but when he realised he’d never make the very top, he walked away to chase a new dream: building a sportswear brand with his brother, frustrated by the lack of quality kit on the market. Today, Castore is valued at almost a billion. Tom joins Evan Davis to discuss giving up football, starting a business from scratch, and how they persuaded stars like Andy Murray to invest in the brand. Image used with permission by copyr...
When he finished university Anthony Eskinazi was destined for a graduate scheme with a top accountancy firm, but he couldn’t resist a business idea he’d had while trying to get to a baseball game during his gap year. The tech entrepreneur tells Evan Davis how he gave up job security, and a promising career path, to try to connect drivers with under-used parking spaces. Producers: Simon Tulett and Georgiana Tudor Series Producer: Simon Tulett Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Gareth Jones Production co-...
When an investor pulled the plug on a £3m cash injection for Joanna Jensen’s fledgling business, it could not have come at a worse time. The Childs Farm founder was just about to launch in two of the UK’s biggest high street stores, and was also going through a divorce and moving out of the family home with her two young daughters. Joanna tells Evan Davis how the last-minute let-down taught her who she could trust in business and what she needed to look for in a future financial partner. Produce...
When Nick Grey started his cordless vacuum business 20 years ago he took a big risk by handing a lot of control to a much bigger rival. The entrepreneur, who’d designed and built prototypes in his garage, tells Evan Davis about that decision and the moment he knew it had really paid off. Production team: Producer: Simon Tulett Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Gareth Jones and Jonny Baker Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Image: Photographer: Jack Pope. Copyright: Gtech...
Zak Brown didn’t graduate high school – he was thrown out for fighting - but he loved sport. He watched his first Formula 1 race when he was 10, and became captivated by the cars, sound and speed. An appearance on a teen version of Wheel of Fortune, aged 13, won him some Cartier watches that he would later pawn for $1000, using the money to buy a go-kart and launch his racing career. But when it became clear he wouldn’t reach the heights he hoped for, he had a big decision to make. He tells Evan...
Which business leader, or company, has had the most outstanding 12 months? What's been the biggest disaster or blunder? Evan Davis and guests look back over the business highs and lows of the last year. Evan is joined by: Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman, S4 Capital; Greg Jackson, founder and CEO, Octopus Energy; Joanna Jensen, founder, Childs Farm. Production team: Producers: Georgiana Tudor and Osman Iqbal Series Producer: Simon Tulett Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Neil Churchill and Matt C...
It's an industry that has few fans, but how does it really work, and will there be enough spaces in future for the UK's growing fleet of cars? Evan Davis looks under the bonnet of a much-maligned industry to find out where the money goes and why motorists have to pay in the first place. The government has been clamping down on 'cowboy' operators - can this, along with technology like Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, make car parks fairer? With changing travel patterns post-pand...
What does it take to grow a new enterprise? Evan Davis hears about the decisions behind creating a multi million-pound business. Founders share the challenges of shifting from solo entrepreneur to CEO, and navigating the make-or-break moments: when to invest, when to take risks, and when to hold back. Plus, the realities of failure, internal setbacks, and the strategic role of social media in driving growth. Evan is joined by: Charlie Bowes-Lyon, Co-Founder, Wild; Charlotte Figg, Co-Founder, Pur...
Care homes are to be barred from recruiting overseas staff, as part of government plans to cut net migration, but will the sector be able to tempt enough British workers to take their place? Evan Davis asks two providers how they plan to adapt, why it's so hard to recruit and retain local staff, and what the care home sector might look like in the future. Also, if low pay really is one of the biggest obstacles to new hires, what would a fairer, more attractive level be? Evan is joined by: Raina ...
Evan Davis and experts discuss transforming dreaded presentations into persuasive, inspiring experiences. They delve into why authenticity, clear messaging, and managing nerves are crucial, challenging the over-reliance on bullet points and rigid scripts. The conversation highlights the strategic use of storytelling to connect emotionally with audiences and offers practical tips for impactful delivery, from preparation to harnessing non-verbal communication.
Cyber criminals have seriously damaged some household names recently - M&S, Co-op, North Face, Harrods - but what really happens behind the scenes when a business is hacked? Evan Davis speaks to the former head of information security at Royal Mail about the major attack it suffered in 2023 - from the initial alert and the eye-watering ransom demand, to the media leak and the long, slow rebuild. Plus, how should you negotiate with hackers, how sophisticated have they become, and how do they ...
Discussing pay is one of society’s big taboos - it’s just not the done thing to ask other people what they earn. And it can be even more hush-hush in the workplace - we’re not told to keep quiet, but somehow everyone does. And yet, most of us would love to know what our colleagues earn. So would lifting the lid on salaries trigger resentment and frustration, or be a tool for fairness and accountability? Evan Davis explores the pros and cons of pay transparency — from closing gender pay gaps to b...
The definitive business podcast from the BBC. Each week host Evan Davis is joined by company bosses, entrepreneurs and industry experts, who lift the lid on how the world of business really works, and what it’s like to be in charge. From managing AI to managing millennials, from supermarkets to supercharging a new product, the panel tackles the big issues, big challenges, or big questions facing their industry. And they share stories of success and failure along the way, revealing the personalit...
President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports have shaken up the global economic order, but why have so many brands turned to China to make their products in the first place, and how exactly do they do it? Evan Davis talks to three company bosses to find out what it’s really like doing business in the Far East and whether it's still as cheap and easy as it used to be. And if high tariffs persist, or get higher, where else in the world could do China's job? Evan is joined by: Nick Grey, founder an...
Richard Farleigh grew up poverty-stricken in outback Australia as one of eleven children. When he was an infant, he was taken into care and spent most of his childhood in a foster home. A love of puzzles, a determination to prove himself, and some teachers who believed in his abilities, helped him gain a scholarship to university. From there he became a successful investment fund manager, eventually retiring at 34 to become an entrepreneur, and later an angel investor. The former dragon talks to...
The child of immigrant parents to Australia, Erinch was taught to want a stable life. He was having a successful career at Proctor and Gamble, but one day had a realisation that this was not what he wanted to be doing with his life. Now Erinch is a business and enterprise lead at the Doughnut Economics Action Lab, and designs businesses so they follow a social or ecological purpose. The social enterprise expert talks to Evan Davis about how he dealt with discovering his values were not aligning ...
After 14 years of having a successful career in media, Sophie found herself unemployed. She thought with her skills and experience finding a new role would be easy, but it was the opposite. After struggling with applications and repeated denials, Sophie decided she wanted to change the process of applying for a job. The employment specialist talks to Evan Davis about how she’s trying to change the way recruitment works with her business Pollen Careers. Production team: Producers: Nick Holland, G...
At a time when coding and IT was in its infancy, Sir Kenneth fortuitously took a computer class to get out of cross country running; that choice would shape the rest of his life. From an internship at IBM, he later went on to a senior position at Wang laboratories, but then was fired after an unsuccessful management buyout. He eventually struck out on his own and founded two merchant banks. The entrepreneur talks to Evan Davis about the moment he was fired after trying to engineer a management b...
When a family member gets sick, it can mean major changes to our lives. For Chris May, it meant he needed a role that could be done entirely from home. He quit his job, and created his own enterprise doing management consulting. One of the contracts he had after that was to create a report on the standards of north London hospitals. Instead of just a report, Chris created an entire database, and his work snowballed from there. The health technology entrepreneur talks to Evan Davis about how he e...
Grief hits everyone differently. For Claire Daniels, it changed her life; she had been working as the head of marketing for a technology firm and believed she’d keep climbing the corporate ladder, but after her brother’s death she found herself needing time out and quit. Later she began working for her sister in law’s business as a stopgap measure while she got herself back on track, but then that ended up becoming permanent. The marketing executive talks to Evan Davis about what it was like to ...
An early passion for the high street meant Julian Metcalfe was determined to get into retail from the get-go. He and his partner Sinclair Beecham founded Pret A Manger when he was just 26. In 2008 Pret was sold to a private equity firm, and Julian no longer had a say in the company’s future. Now Julian is in charge of Itsu, an Asian-inspired fast-food chain. The food entrepreneur talks to Evan Davis about how he is determined not to lose his decision-making role this time around. Production team...
Sonnaz Nooranvary thought she’d have to be a doctor or a lawyer to please her parents but struggled academically thanks to a combination of dyslexia and ADHD. Everything changed when she spotted an advert for an upholstery apprenticeship. She dropped out of college to build yachts from scratch. The upholsterer talks to Evan Davis about how she went against her family’s expectations to follow her instincts. Production team: Producer: Bob Howard, Georgiana Tudor Editor: Matt Willis Sound: John Sco...
When high street travel firm Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019, it triggered the biggest ever peacetime repatriation, with 150,000 holidaymakers needing to be brought home. Alan French was the Group Strategy and Technology director at the time and had to preside over the disaster. Despite that, he was determined to revive the company and the next year relaunched Thomas Cook as a digital only brand. The travel executive talks to Evan Davis about how he managed to turn his fortunes around and resurrec...
How would you invest £100k? Do entrepreneurs have super-human levels of optimism? How can you keep ownership of a great idea? In a first for The Bottom Line, Evan Davis puts questions like these - sent in by listeners - to a panel of business experts. Evan is joined by: Sir Kenneth Olisa - chairman, Restoration Partners, and formerly founder and CEO, Interregnum; Richard Farleigh - angel investor and former Dragon's Den 'dragon'; Jessica Spungin - adjunct professor of strategy and entrepreneursh...
Self-checkouts have become a staple in supermarkets, fast food chains and other shops, but now some companies are reconsidering their use. Evan Davis explores the technology's role in the retail landscape and asks whether we’ve reached peak self-checkout, or if they’re just a step on the way to an even more digitised shopping future. With insights from industry leaders and experts, he examines the economics behind un-manned tills, generational differences in consumer acceptance, and their links ...
After a year in which a number of big companies decided to list in New York rather than the UK, Evan Davis asks what can be done to attract firms to the London Stock Exchange. With Julia Hoggett, CEO at the London Stock Exchange, Charles Hall, Head of Research at the investment bank Peel Hunt and Conor Lawlor, Managing Director, Global Banking Markets and International Affairs at UK finance.
With the success of the BBC programme The Repair Shop, Evan Davis examines the business opportunities of companies which offer to repair things from clothes through to electronics. Is it easier to try and fix something yourself or pay for it to be done professionally? Do we still have the skills that previous generations had to do even relatively simple things like sewing on buttons? With Kyle Wiens, CEO of Ifixit, Katharine Beacham, Head of Sustainability, Clothing & Home at Marks and Spenc...
This episode of The Bottom Line explores the potential impact of the US backlash against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives on UK businesses. Host Evan Davis and guests discuss whether UK firms will follow the US trend of scaling back DEI efforts, the role of political influence, and the need for honesty and redesigned corporate structures. The conversation covers the credibility of ethical business practices and the future of DEI in a changing landscape.
Evan Davis talks to the Estonian Ahti Heinla, co-founder of robot delivery firm Starship Technologies, which is hoping to expand across the UK. Evan hears about Ahti's early life in Estonia, how he competed in a Nasa competition, the start of the delivery system in Milton Keynes and how he thinks robot deliveries will grow in the future in Britain and worldwide.
