Stephen Fear, entrepreneur and self-made millionaire, visited Emily Gardens – accommodation for young families in Cheltenham – during Halloween where he chatted with residents.

Dropping out of school at 15 to start an oven cleaning business, Fear’s first major deal was achieved over the phone using the now famous red telephone box on the council estate in Bristol where he grew up, hence his nickname of ‘phone box millionaire’. Largely self-educated through his love of reading, Fear went on to sell what became a successful commercial cleaning company and move into a variety of ventures including property investment and development. Today he runs a multi-faceted business empire with his son and business partner, Leon.

Bromford’s CEO, Philippa Jones said: “We’re delighted that Stephen has visited one of our schemes again. When he visited our young homeless scheme, Ark House in Stroud, earlier this year it was really beneficial for our customers to hear some of his valuable insights and I am sure our young families gained a lot from hearing about how he was able to achieve such huge success. At Bromford, we know that everyone has aspirations and we work with customers to help identify what they can do, looking at any hurdles they might need help with overcoming to get where they want to be.”

Stephen got involved in preparing some ‘bonfire’ inspired food before helping customers and children create a tree of life: making leaves that were decorated with things that inspire them and what they are hopeful for in the future. PCSO’s came along to talk about safety around fireworks and the local children’s centre brought crafts for the families to get involved in.

Stephen said: “It was great to spend some time with the young families at Emily Gardens and I hope that my experience might have inspired them to see that they can create a positive future for themselves.”

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