Stephen J Ashworth FRICS
Chairman / CEO
During his 39 years in business, Stephen has been involved in many companies ranging from commercial property investment and development, house building, contaminated land reclamation, timber import & distribution, security & CCTV installation, motor dealerships, classic car auctions, self storage and medical.
The companies that he has been and is still involved with in a key leadership role and operational executive director & shareholder have created over 1500 jobs, constructing over 1200 homes in the North of England and Wales, investing over £500 million in commercial property investment and development all across the UK.
In 2020 Stephen cofounded Manor Park Classics, a national classic car auction and sales business with fellow classic car enthusiasts to service and improve the classic car market nationally. This is now in its fourth calendar year and a great success.
Stephen also has holdings in Scotland and in 2024 he cofounded AM Sci Tech in Aberdeen which runs two major Sci Tech parks focussed on the oil and gas industry and environmental resources.
At Hurstwood in Stephen’s roles, between the years of 1994 and 2001 as Managing Director and 2002 to 2007 as Chairman and CEO, 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 £30m between the years of 2002 and 2007, with total gross assets of nearly £100m at the time, all whilst remaining a privately owned and managed company.
Following the financial crisis of 2008/9 Stephen and his team worked hard to keep the business alive where many failed and decided to consolidate and focus it’s attention on commercial property investment, land strategy and planning with only selective development and house building, and with no contracting or building from which the company had originated. A difficult decision but one that proved to be the best long term.
Today the main investment vehicle Arrowmere Capital, started by Stephen 12 years ago, together with Hurstwood, all of which is now badged as Hurstwood Holdings, owns and manages over £400m of commercial and residential property on circa 150 sites nationwide housing over 1000 occupier clients.
Stephen and his team take great care and pride to run a solid, professional and well financed group of companies, with many new and existing projects to take forward in 2025, continuing to take the group of companies to their best ever position with four consecutive record years of performance.
Late 2022 saw Stephen start a new venture into self storage, with the new brand Lock It Self Storage. This officially launched early 2023 and is proving a success at it first site on Standishgate, Wigan with a fabulous well experienced team. Stephen has now identified other ideal locations in Lancaster and Rossendale for purpose-built Lock It Self Storage branches to launch in 2025.
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, commercial & residential property investment and development, and medical research and development of products. 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, leadership, acquisition of property and land, teambuilding (over 30% of his staff have worked in the business for over 10 years and 50% for over 5 years with several being with him for over 20 years), generating profits and high levels of service and efficiency for his clients over many years has enabled him to build up a wealth of experience and first class reputation in the national property market. This has been further enhanced by the challenges presented to him in the last 16 years following the 2008 economic downturn, guiding his business through these difficult times and ensuring their survival and returning them to full investment and operation health and profitability, indeed making them better than ever.
Stephen, a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, an RICS registered mentor, a UK&I World Board member and the Chairman of the North West Regional Board for the last 6 years, is very focussed on his property career. He remains steadfast in his positive approach to business and very focussed on the property industry, drawing upon his wide and varied experience, constantly seeking new opportunities whilst concentrating on improving and maintaining his existing projects and commitments. He takes an active role in the RICS, dedicated to the future of the profession he loves whilst also helping others to improve and achieve full chartered status. Stephen has run and financed his own graduate programme at Hurstwood for over 15 years. He has also helped the RICS with their involvement with the LandAid charity in helping to find accommodation for the homeless youth in Manchester.
Stephen enjoys his family life and is the proud Father of 3 children, Sophie 35, Aimee 32 and Sam 30. He takes his charitable work very seriously, working closely over the last 40 years with various charities, educational institutions, and special needs groups for children in the North West. Over the years, he has raised over £3,000,000 for these charities, including Derian House Children’s Hospice, Destination Florida Children’s Charity, Cheshire Connect and The British Heart Foundation through corporate events with Hurstwood. Stephen is a strong supporter of the Seashell Trust, sponsoring a soft play room at their facility.
Stephen has also raised £1,000,000 individually for various charities including The British Heart Foundation through sponsored fundraising trips, cycling across Jordan, from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon in Nevada, from Banff to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, from Delhi to the Taj Mahal in Rajasthan, India, across Cuba from Havana to the Che Guevara Memorial, London to Paris, and recently from Yosemite National Park to San Francisco. 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. Over the years, he has taken on and completed many leadership responsibilities in mountaineering.
Stephen is focussed on and now the chairman of Destination Florida Children’s Charity for children with life-limiting conditions and disabilities, following his existing tenure as a trustee, volunteer carer, and fundraiser since 2010. The charity takes 75 highly deserving children on the trip of a lifetime every other year. Stephen spends a lot of his free time working and fundraising for the charity alongside his family and business interests. Supporting his daughter Aimee and her husband, Stephen is also providing help and advice in their efforts to set up a charity in memory of their son Freddie, Stephen’s grandson. The charity aims to support parents, grandparents, and families following child loss and is currently in its infancy.
Stephen and his companies are also involved with Cheshire Connect, an organisation that helps other charities improve and work more efficiently, together with the Seashell Trust in Manchester, which cares for and improves the lives of underprivileged and disabled children. When he can squeeze some time in for himself, Stephen enjoys walking, reading, and playing tennis.
