In  April 1999, at the age of 40, Andy Hill was made redundant from his main board director job at contractor Willmott Dixon, along with another senior colleague. He suddenly found himself without an occupation.

“Neither of us saw it coming,” he says, in his quiet, mellow Estuary tones. “So, I thought – what do I do? I hadn’t been for an interview for 20 years.” It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to him.

Soon after, he set up Hill, initially as a contractor and then later moving into development. But back then he did not know how successful it would prove to be. “I remortgaged the house [to invest in the first development]. Oh yes – I was all in. It was pretty scary … pretty scary.”

Twenty-two years later, his bet has well and truly paid off. Hill Group is one of the UK’s most successful housebuilders and the third-biggest privately owned developer, behind Bloor Homes and Miller, turning over more than £650m last year.

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