The Wray Brothers
Shortly after the Toxeth riots in Liverpool in the early 1980s, brothers Graham and Mark Wray were struggling to find work.
Graham and Mark decided the best way to find employment was to start their own business but had no money or support to get their idea off the ground. After taking part in our Enterprise programme, they founded their business The Wray Brothers.
They got in touch with The Prince’s Trust and were given a business mentor and a £3,000 loan. It gave them the kick-start they needed to get their business going.
They started off by selling old clothes as rags to garages.
After a short time in business The Trust’s President and founder HRH The Prince of Wales visited the company which was starting to make a name for itself. Since then it has developed into a multi-million pound business, selling hygiene cleaning products. It currently employs 19 staff from the area.
Graham said:
“We started off by buying clothes from charity shops and then selling them on as rags and now we have 4,500 items on a 138-page catalogue.”
The brothers are now hoping that their story will inspire many other people in the area to do the same thing today. They have created a business centre, by restoring a rundown derelict Victorian shipping warehouse. With room for around 20 or 30 businesses, unemployed young people will be able to use the centre as a base for their business for a year. The aim is that it will help other young people in the area to start their own businesses.
Graham added:
“Thanks to The Trust, we’ve managed to succeed and I can’t recommend it to people enough.”