I've been around long enough to see the collapse of many once proud British industries and, right now, I'm watching the painful decline of UK haulage. It's a far cry from the glory days of the 1990s, when the likes of Eddie Stobart and James Irlam were household names. Their trucks were motorway icons, flying the Union Jack across the UK and Europe. But the balance of power has shifted.
Poland is now the continent's powerhouse with 20% of the overall road haulage market, and its neighbours aren't far behind. Eastern European trucks dominate our motorways and fill our laybys inbetween deliveries and pick-ups we should be doing ourselves.
But as the owner of a new venture, Big Transport, I'm not giving up without a fight. I've always believed that you either go big or go home. It began with the acquisition of a struggling haulier in Kent last year. I've since added another in Liverpool, and we're planning a big new headquarters in Kent along with further acquisitions. Of course, I know the challenges.
The UK driver shortage is critical - 200,000 more HGV drivers are needed by 2029, and we've already got 20,000 unfilled vacancies. Moreover, more than half of lorry drivers on British roads are aged 50 or older, with many heading towards retirement, according to a study by job search site Adzuna.
It suggested low pay is putting off the next generation from getting behind the wheel. That shouldn't be the case. These can be well-paid, secure jobs. But the truth is, the UK has been sold a lie for too long - the myth that the only route to success is university. I grew up in a care home. I'm dyslexic and partially deaf and left school with next to nothing yet created a £500million business empire.
How? Because I learned on the job. I worked. I grafted. I built something from nothing. So I get angry when I hear teenagers being told to take on £50,000 in debt for a degree which will "buy them a great career and income" when most end up trapped and depressed by a dead-end, low-paid job. That's why I believe more young people will soon realise the power of apprenticeships and hands-on careers.
And yes that includes becoming a lorry driver. You can start at 18, get paid from day one and work your way up - with no student debt hanging over your head. And if you've been made redundant, why not retrain as a trucker? One of my drivers, Ashford-based Gordon Clark, is 76-years-old and still loving life on the road. He has been a trucker for 40 years
after being a merchant seaman, factory hand, hotel worker and salesman. Redundancy led him to HGV training - and he's never looked back. "It was harder then," he told me. "The trucks were rougher round the edges, and you relied on maps and payphones to stay in touch. Now I've got a TV, microwave, sat nav and a comfy cab - whether driving or sleeping. If you love travelling, it's a brilliant life."
We're also making the job smarter. Big Transport has a brand-new management app giving customers real-time updates. It's all part of making this industry fit for the future. But let's be realistic. British haulage isn't just facing competition from overseas. It's also been badly let down at home. In 1996 UK international haulage peaked at 16.5 billion tonne-kilometres (tkm is our yardstick measurement).
By 2022, that number had shrunk by 75%. Meanwhile, Britain has added just 422 miles of motorway since 1990. Compare that with Germany's 1,440 and France's 3,057. Worse, almost half the UK hauliers set up between 2019 and 2023 have gone bust.
In 2023 alone 494 companies folded. So we already had high insolvency rates and severe driver shortages, and now we have a government that has made it even harder to afford to employ people, invest in companies and is determined to implement net-zero policies, regardless of impact on commerce and trade. The truth is road haulage is about as cost-effective as it's possible to be when it comes to delivering goods and raw materials to UK businesses. Frankly, I'm not holding my breath for investment in motorways and roads.
Yes, revival will be tough. But tough is nothing new to me. I've defied the odds before, and I'm ready to do it again. So, look out for Big Transport's trucks and other UK operators up for the fight. We're not just here to survive but to spearhead a British trucking revival.
