Our story: The one where Nigel was made redundant
It was the early 1980s and Nigel Wagstaff had been made redundant for a second time.
He had experience in farming and butchery from his younger years, and had acquired the secret recipe, ‘the Wagstaff complete cure’.
But he was still working for a firm.
That was until the second redundancy.
“I can’t work for anyone else again,” Nigel said to wife Jo at the time.
With £5,000 from his redundancy, Nigel and Jo went to the bank with a business plan to ask for some funding.
The bank manager doubled the £5,000, to give the family a total of £10,000 to get set up.
It was during a recession.
Interest rates were at 14%.
It was probably the worst time to start a business.
But that didn’t hold Nigel and Jo back.
“When are you going to pay me back, Nigel?”, the bank manager asked.
“Next year”, Nigel replied.
It was in that moment that Houghton Hams was born.
And Nigel kept his promise: The bank manager was repaid a year later.
