Ownership 2.qxp_Finance 19/07/2022 08:09 Page 1
OWNERSHIP
Even Plumbers Can Fly by Private Jet Find out how Charlie Mullins – a man who built a plumbing empire on simple, honest principles – realized the benefits of private jets, becoming a repeat charter user. Fabrizio Poli caught up with him in a recent interview…
C
harlie Mullins wasn’t born into money. He’s the son of a factory worker father and his mother worked as a cleaner. When he was born, they rented a couple of rooms in Camden, UK, before moving to the Rockingham Estate in London's Elephant and Castle. At the tender age of ten, Charlie used to miss a few days of school to help Bill, his local plumber. As it turned out, Charlie was a natural in the trade, and, having developed a talent for plumbing he left school aged 15 and gained City and Guilds qualifications to become an apprentice plumber. Before long, Charlie had set-up shop as a sole trader in the Pimlico area of London, building a plumbing empire in London called Pimlico Plumbers, which, after forty years in business, he recently sold for over £145m ($170m) to American home services provider, Neighborly. The secrets to Charlie’s success in building Pimlico
38 ❘ Vol 26 Issue 8 2022 ❘ AVBUYER MAGAZINE
Plumbers is a combination of common sense and out-of-the-box thinking – he makes it clear that obsessive focus on customers has been key, as has a determination to create a service that’s professional and counter to the negative experiences many have of tradesman. Among his common sense ‘secrets’, “We don’t turn up late. We wear smart clothes and are transparent with our prices,” he elaborates. “These aren’t things people normally associate with plumbers.” On his out-of-the-box approach, Charlie spent £1m (USD$1.2m) on his 80 number plates which spell out plumbing-related themes, including 'Drains', 'Sinks', 'Shower', 'Gas' and 'Loo 2 Rod'. But he says they are an investment in the business as he uses them on his vans. According to Charlie, they got noticed and have brought Pimlico Plumbers a lot of business as a result. www.AVBUYER.com
