Title
Chairman

Address
Fourth Floor
No1 Marsden Street
Manchester
M2 1HW

Email
sja@hurstwoodholdings.com

Contact
Office: 0161 220 1999
Fax: 0161 220 1990

Stephen Ashworth is Chairman, joint founder and major shareholder of Hurstwood Holdings and Crystal Holdings, both individual property investor and developers in their own right with Hurstwood having numerous awards for regeneration and business success.

During his 19 years in business, Stephen has been involved in many companies ranging from commercial property, house building, contaminated land reclamation, timber import & distribution, security & CCTV installation and motor dealerships.

The companies that he has been and is still involved with in a key leadership role and operational executive director & shareholder have created over 1000 jobs, constructing over 1000 homes in the North West region, investing over £150 million in commercial property investment and development in the North West, Yorkshire, Wales and the Midlands.

At Hurstwood in Stephen’s roles, between the years of 1994 and 2001 as Managing Director and 2002 to 2007 as Chairman, he took the Group from a £1m turnover company to a £80m turnover per annum, employing at its peak 385 people and generating profits of over £40m between the years of 1998 and 2007, with total gross assets of £200m, all whilst remaining a privately owned and managed company.

The events of the credit crunch in 2008/9 have meant that the group has consolidated and is now focussing its attention on commercial property investment with selective development and some house building and continues to own property on its 100+ sites across the North, Midlands and Wales.

Over the years Stephen has also worked in a number of joint ventures, both alongside other developer investors and financial institutions in contaminated land reclamation, refurbishment of heritage & listed buildings and commercial & residential property investment and development. These joint ventures have been carried out over a number of years and Stephen is very proud of his teamwork approach which allows the collaboration of individual talent and resource to pool together to produce a greater and more successful end result.

Stephen’s excellent track record, both in building companies, generating profits and high levels of service and efficiency over many years has enabled him to build up a wealth of experience. This has been further enhanced by the challenges presented to him in the last five years following the 2007 economic downturn, guiding his business through these difficult times and ensuring their survival.

Stephen remains steadfast in his positive approach to business and very focussed on the property industry, draws upon his wide and varied experience, constantly seeking new opportunities whilst concentrating on improving and maintaining his existing projects and commitments.

Stephen has been awarded the following in recognition of his achievements.

Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Property and Construction North Region 2006

EN Magazine
Best Property Entrepreneur 2006

Lancashire Young Director of the Year 2005

North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
Outstanding Business Achievement Awards
Business Person of the Year 2004

North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
Outstanding Business Achievement Awards
Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005

Insider Magazine
42 Under 42 Finalist 2006

Stephen enjoys his family life and is the proud Father of 3 children, Sophie 22, Aimee 20 and Sam 17.

Over the years he has raised over £250,000 for charity, mainly for Derian House Children’s Hospice through corporate events with Hurstwood. Stephen has also raised £50,000 individually through sponsored fund raising trips, cycling across Jordan, from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon in Nevada, from Banff to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, from Delhi to the Taj Mahal in Rajakhstan, India and recently across Cuba from Havana to the Guevera Memorial. A keen mountaineer, he has also climbed Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe along with Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and Mount Toubkal, Morocco -the two highest peaks in Africa, all for charity.

2013 will see Stephen walking the Masaai in Tanzania with future trips planned for Everest Base Camp and Nepal, again for charity. He is also a volunteer carer and fundraiser for the Destination Florida Charity for disabled and under privileged children.

When he can squeeze some time in for himself Stephen enjoys walking, mountain climbing, skiing, playing tennis and is currently midway through a Mountain Leadership qualification.