Born into inner city poverty against a backdrop of racist and misogynistic 1960s Britain, Sue finally ‘made it’ becoming a self-made multi-millionaire at 59 years old. Admittedly slower than some entrepreneurs, but she got there in the end.
After working for 35 years
she decided to set up her own tax company with her best friend's daughter, Brady
Last. They started in her small conservatory on two laptops and with a large stash of Yorkshire
tea bags. The kids had left home and at 54 years old, she thought
she should do something risky for once in her life. She put her entire savings
into starting a business even though there were no clients in sight. She
convinced Brady to join her in this one last hurrah.
Accountants laughed at them, banks wouldn't give them an overdraft (never mind a loan), and rivals tried to put them out of business. Five years later it was sold to EY, that big multi-billion pound turnover company who just loved the staff and the brand.
How did she build a buy-out in such a short time and from scratch? Hiring people with no qualifications, starting a radio show (wtf!), co-founding a women's business group, sponsoring charities and writing a book or two, among other things . . .
By the end of 2019 Sue's team had secured £60 million in cash or tax benefit for over 1,000 small businesses, creating at least 150 new jobs in the process. They did it in just 5 years. Read the remarkable story of their success.
How a team which included a British Army sniper fresh from Afghanistan, a zookeeper, an office cleaner, a dental receptionist, a failed call centre worker and a window specialist officially became the UK's Best Independent Tax Consultancy Firm.
Sue built the Breakthrough brand by prioritising its social impact. Strong financial performance was essential but being a truly good corporate citizen brought hugely profitable results and attracted the best people who wanted to share that culture.
The famous weekly podcast celebrating all things food and drink. Sue as lead presenter, has recorded 288 episodes to date which sadly involves tasting a lot of delicious food and alcohol.
In 2016 Sue set up Breakthrough Women with Deborah Turner, a biannual event for businesswomen dedicated to giving them more confidence and raising their visibility in the workplace.
Sue has interviewed tech trailblazers on her TechTalk Show from Dr. Sue Black, the saviour of Bletchley Park, to Jacqueline de Rojas, President of techUK and Maggie Philbin, former presenter of Tomorrow's World.
In 2017 Sue wrote and published FoodTech UK to make a case for the UK as the centre for foodtech innovation and to attract inward investment to the UK. This brings her tally to ten published books.
Inspired by the work of Russ Shaw in setting up Tech London Advocates, Sue founded the TLA FoodTech Working Group to create a collaborative community of UK organisations involved in Food Tech.
EY bought Breakthrough Funding on 31 March 2020. The same great team is in place headed as ever by Brady Last. Such global presence is helping to spread the social impact still further.
Speaking, broadcasting, winning awards and meeting truly inspiring people
Speaking at the TLA Global Summit in London | On BBC News at Ten with Huw Edwards | With Prue Leith | With Brady and Naga Munchetty
Presenting the FoodBytes London event in 2019 | With Paul A. Young, the chocolatier | On ITV News Live in Liverpool | With James Averdieck of Gü Puddings
Recording FoodTalk at Speciality Fine Food Fair | Presenting the Future Food Awards | On 5 News being interviewed by Kirsty Young | At the Every Woman Awards
Being interviewed by Simon McCoy on Sky News | With Monika Brinton of Brindisa | Arguing with Ollie Lloyd in the FoodTalk studio | On the BBC Six O'Clock News
At the IoD with Declan Curry | Laughing with Ollie Lloyd in the FoodTalk studio | On Granada News with Gordon Burns | Launching FoodTalk UK with Russ Shaw
With Brady being presented with the prestigious Tolley Award by Jeremy Vine | With Kate Adie | On BBC Breakfast News | Interviewing Maggie Philbin
With Marcus Wareing | Brady and Louise Minchin with my Director of the Year Award | With James Wong | Being interviewed by Ann Widdecombe on Sky News
Working with Keith Floyd | Winning the Most Promising New Business | With the legendary Madhur Jaffrey | On the front cover of Global Women Magazine
Interviewing Tamara Lohan of Mr and Mrs Smith | Tasting on air | | With Willie Harcourt-Cooze of Willie's Cacao | Cooking with Mark Stubbs of Wheelers
With our incredible CEO Brady Last | Publicity shot for my first ever book | With Asma Kahn of Darjeeling Express | With Dr Sue Black saviour of Bletchley Park
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