Ian Wilson, Wilsons Auctions

Wilsons Auctions is the largest auction group in the UK and Ireland. It offer a complete service from collection, storage, valuation, marketing, refurbishment, auction and distribution of any asset from cars, commercial goods, property to jewellery, planes, boats and everything in between.

Managing director Ian Wilson has been the driving force in the company for more than 40 years, having left school to work with his father at the age of 15. In his early 20s, he became the owner of Wilsons Auctions.

The company was originally started in 1936 by Ian’s father William. In 1987, Wilsons Auctions opened its second dedicated auction centre in Portadown, which was then followed by further expansion and purpose-built auction centres opening in Scotland, Dublin, England and Wales. In 1992, the company moved to its current headquarters, and purpose-built auction centre, also in Mallusk, Newtownabbey.

The company currently employs more than 300 full-time staff and a further 200 on a part-time basis across Ireland and the UK, with 140 of those jobs being in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Its clients include AIB, An Garda Síochána, PSNI, Ford, Lloyds TSB, Citroen, BMW, Audi, BT, Deloitte, PWC, Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank, Ulster Bank, Courts Service Ireland, Criminal Assets Bureau, An Post, Dublin City Council and Santander.

What is your biggest business achievement to date? Becoming the first and only auction company in the British Isles to have operations in each one of the home nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), hence becoming the largest privately-owned auction house in Ireland and the UK. It was a good move, moving to Britain from Northern Ireland. There are less than two million people in Northern Ireland. Now we have a huge market.

Were there any early signs that you would eventually follow an entrepreneurial path? Since I can remember, I have always had an eye for an opportunity. I left school on my 15th birthday and started work the next day. I didn't like the fact I couldn't earn any money at school. At that age I thought I knew everything.

How do you generate new ideas to stay ahead of the curve? I get out and meet people, there are so many business opportunities when you get out and meet as many people as you can and, of course, talking to my team. We don't hold meeting after meeting, we just constantly speak to one another to come up with ideas. I try to encourage everyone within the business to come up with ideas.

Have you started to feel the effects of the economic upturn within your sector/industry? As we are at the coalface of selling assets as soon as there is any change in the economy good or bad, we see it and it's all about adjusting your service quickly to deal with the change.

We have started to feel the effects of the upturn. We do an awful lot of work for government bodies and insolvency practitioners and thus see all the problems hitting the country early on. When things were tough and a lot of assets were being sold, a lot of them were leaving the country. Now we are seeing more people spending money, more assets staying in the country and a lift in the property market.

How do you recharge your batteries? Getting out on my horse. I named him "Business", so that when someone calls me I can say, "I'm out on Business".