Fellows stories: Neil Laughton

How would I describe my life post-sale? Freedom! More time to pursue my passions and interests. I’ve been able to help and support other people on their journeys too, essentially helping people go from ‘ordinary to extraordinary’ – my current organisational strap-line!

I would say there are different strands to this freedom. But the foremost is adventure and encouragement of others to be more adventurous in their lives and businesses. I also run a CEO mentoring group, lead inspirational retreats, and I take people on exciting adventurous expeditions.

Some examples? A couple of years ago, I led a team on a paddle boarding trip to a remote tributary of the Peruvian Amazon. Seven clients joined me on a 250 km two-week adventure and we all became very close friends. It was a truly extraordinary experience and a privilege to be in such a beautiful, remote and precious environment. We also raised £20,000 for various charities, including Prostate Cancer UK. We were a mixed team but of the six men, all agreed to get our Prostate’s tested when we got home. Three of us, including me, discovered that we had prostate cancer. So I would say: Men over 50 – go get a PSA Test! That experience, and a good surgeon certainly saved my life, but possibly two others as well.

Fundraising for Prostate UK saved my life – and possibly two others as well

In February 2022, I was camping on the world’s largest (frozen) freshwater lake in Siberia just as Putin’s tanks were invading Ukraine. My team returned to the UK and three day’s later I took an EasyJet flight to Poland then headed straight to the border with Ukraine in order to help the refugees that were escaping the violence. And I’ve been back twice more since then to near the front lines in the east of Ukraine to support the locals, giving them some love, support… and giving away free hot pizzas with the charity HopeFull.

Neil making pizza in East Ukraine in 2023, helping out with the HopeFull charity

I have some new business interests now. Laughton & Co is a mentoring organisation that aims to empower people, giving them confidence to get out of their comfort zones and to push boundaries to excel in life. Another passion of mine is penny farthings, the old Victorian bicycles. In my free time post sale, I founded the Penny Farthing Club. I’d always been a cyclist and these bicycles just appealed to my sense of fun, eccentricity and showmanship! I love the fact they put a smile on people’s faces too. As an aside, my next expedition is an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the highest ever bicycle ride, in NW Nepal. But it will be on an ordinary ‘Safety bicycle’!

‘No Hands!’ In 2019, Neil set three Guiness World Records in one day on a penny farthing bicycle

My previous business, OPL, was in construction, the commercial interiors sector which you helped us sell to a FTSE 100 company. During my post-sale sabbatical, I began thinking about the concept of homes that float, a grander version of my current Dutch Barge houseboat. With a bit of creativity, innovation and risk taking, I’ve formed a company called Floating Developments Limited, with good friend Jamie Scrimgeour. Working with some clever marine engineers, we’ve developed and patented a unique concrete floatation device, which would sit underneath traditionally built SIPs or structurally insulated panelled houses. Our aim is to create housing developments of two-storey, four-bedroomed floating homes in marinas, lakes and waterways. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur, I guess!