Home Improvement

County pool player Chris Charnley has made a clean break from a decades-long career in sales to launch oven cleaning service Ovenu Preston North. The 58-year-old, who represents Lancashire at eight-ball pool, decided the time was right to become his own boss after spending 37 years with a Bamber Bridge-based aluminium stockist. Chris, who lives with his partner, said: “Becoming my own boss was an ambition I’ve had for several years, but I’d just reached a point where it was now or never – an...

Paul Skelton has called last orders on a career in the pub and club trade to launch oven cleaning service Ovenu Shrewsbury. The 48-year-old has finally fulfilled a long-held ambition to run his own business after spending the past 12 years working for pub chain Wetherspoons. He spent his final 13 months as kitchen manager at The Wilfred Owen in Oswestry, having previously worked as a shift leader at The Shrewsbury Hotel. “I’ve always worked in hospitality, so keeping kitchens and ovens spotl...

A globetrotting entrepreneur who established successful businesses in two different hemispheres is putting down roots in his native South Devon with the launch of oven cleaning service Ovenu Newton Abbot. Simon Whalley grew up in Torquay before leaving for Australia in the early 1990s, where he ran his own grocery and delicatessen in Melbourne, and then six years ago, he relocated to Spain, setting up an upholstery and carpet cleaning firm. However, after spending more than 30 years overseas...

A former sous chef who spent more than two decades working in some of the Cotswolds' best-known hotel kitchens is cooking up a new career with the launch of oven cleaning service Ovenu Cirencester. Spencer Cross, who lives in the market town and has worked in hospitality since leaving college in 2002, is now taking his expertise from commercial kitchens into clients’ homes. His career has included roles at The King's Head Inn in Bledington, The Swan Inn in Swinbrook and Hyde House, the weddi...

After a decade helping people secure mortgages from a home office, Tim Smart is embarking on a new business venture with the launch of oven cleaning service Ovenu Guildford.The 47-year-old, who was born and raised in Godalming and now lives in the Guildford area, decided to continue working for himself while building a business that would allow him to spend more time working locally and meeting customers face-to-face.Looking for a business opportunity offering both independence and support, Tim...

A former broadband engineer has launched oven valeting business Ovenu Tilehurst after a routine clean of his own cooker inspired an unexpected career change. Having accepted redundancy from his office-based role, Tom Trethewey was searching for a business opportunity that would allow him to return to the face-to-face customer interaction he had enjoyed for much of his career. The 39-year-old, who lives in Tilehurst, had spent more than 20 years installing broadband in customers’ homes before m...