Harold Peter Tillman CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 retail entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 and investor. His current investments include Jaeger and Aquascutum

Aquascutum

"Aquascutum" is a UK-based luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer, owned by Jaeger.-Company history:Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, when tailor and entrepreneur John Emary opened a high quality menswear shop at 46 Regent Street...

.

Early life

Tillman was born into a Jewish family living in Brixton Hill

Brixton Hill

Brixton Hill is the name given to a 1 km section of road between Brixton and Streatham Hill in south London, England. It slopes downhill towards central London.Brixton Hill and Streatham Hill form part of the traditional main London to Brighton road...

, the only child of a Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

-born tailor

Tailor

A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...

 father who trained at Montagu Burton, and milliner mother. As his father's business developed, they moved to Streatham

Streatham

Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...

 and then Wimbledon

Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

, where he went to Balham County Grammar school.

Career

As his father had been injured in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and suffered from kidney

Kidney

The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

 problems, Tillman ran the whole family business for extended periods. He left school at 15 to study to be an accountant

Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...

, before becoming one of the first male students at the London College of Fashion

London College of Fashion

London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, offering undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therapy and lifestyle industries...

 in 1962.

Aged 19, on graduation in 1965 he became an apprentice at Lincroft Kilgour in Savile Row

Savile Row

Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...

, becoming its managing director three years later. Aged 24 he floated Lincrofts on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

. Tillman developed a business plan based around good design, employing a young Paul Smith

Paul Smith (fashion designer)

Sir Paul Smith jr, RDI, is an English fashion designer, whose business and reputation is founded upon his menswear. He is both commercially successful and highly respected within the fashion industry....

; and celebrity, using George Best

George Best

George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...

 to promote Lincroft's clothes.

Selling out of Lincroft's a multi-millionaire at age 30, he took a tour and brought the concept of the New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 cocktail bar to London, opening Rumours in Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

.

Honorbilt

Tillman returned to the world of fashion through the purchase of Honorbilt from Austin Reed. With a similar plan to Lincroft's, he floated the organisation on the FTSE. He then used this money to buy two organisations in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, but the core group was financially unsound, and as Tillman negotiated the expansion the management he left in charge failed to stem the developing crisis. After Honorbilt was refused further bank funding, the board were forced to call in the receiver

Receivership

In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...

. The Department of Trade and Industry sent inspectors, who proposed to ban Tillamn for life as a director, which he negotiated to a three year bar:

2000 onwards

Tillman rebuilt his fortune through buying and selling UK Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent (brand)

Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.-History:...

 distributor Marchpole, then leading the buy out of BMB, a suits

Suit (clothing)

In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...

 wholesaler that supplies Debenhams

Debenhams

Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...

, Bhs

Bhs

BHS Limited is a British department store chain with branches mainly located in high street locations, primarily selling clothing and household items such as bedlinen, cutlery, crockery and lighting. The company has 187 stores throughout the United Kingdom...

 and other retail chains, from William Baird

William Baird

William Baird may refer to:* William Baird , Conservative MP for Falkirk Burghs* William Alexander Baird , Ontario lawyer and politician* William Teel Baird , New Brunswick historian...

.

Tillman returned to prominence with the 2002 majority investment in loss-making Jaeger, where he teamed up with Belinda Earl

Belinda Earl

Belinda Earl is businesswoman and current chief executive of Jaeger clothing line.She was born in Plymouth and attended St Dunstan's Abbey School for Girls...

. After buying Allders

Allders

Allders is an independent department store in Croydon, established by Joshua Allder in 1862. It is the fourth-largest department store in the United Kingdom.The Croydon store was the flagship of a large chain of department stores in the UK...

, a large department store in Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

 in 2005, in 2009 the team bought Aquascutum

Aquascutum

"Aquascutum" is a UK-based luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer, owned by Jaeger.-Company history:Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, when tailor and entrepreneur John Emary opened a high quality menswear shop at 46 Regent Street...

.

Tillman retains interests in restaurants, including Harry Morgan’s Deli in north London, and a brasserie in west London.

Tillman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.

Charity and community

In 2006, Tillman set up a scholarship at LCF, pledging £1 million to sponsor 10 MA students each year. He sits on the board of the Fashion Enterprise Forum, which raises cash for young industry entrepreneurs. Tillman is chairman of the British Fashion Council

British Fashion Council

The British Fashion Council is a non-profit trade group for British fashion designers founded in 1983.Based in London and currently chaired by Harold Tillman, who took over from friend Sir Stuart Rose, its main goal is to promote British fashion design across the world.-Main activities:The main...

, a role he took over from friend Sir Stuart Rose

Stuart Rose

Sir Stuart Alan Ransom Rose is a British businessman, who was the executive chairman of the British retailer Marks & Spencer. For this role he was paid an annual salary of £1,130,000...

. Tillman is chairman of the Alumni Board for the University of the Arts London

University of the Arts London

The University of the Arts London, formerly known as the London Institute, is a collegiate university comprising six internationally recognised art, design, fashion and media colleges in London, England...

.

Personal life

Tillman and his wife of 40 years Stephanie live in Highgate

Highgate

Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....

, North London

North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...

, and have a holiday home in Marbella

Marbella

Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. The couple have two adult children, Mitchell and Meredith.

External links

• Official Site
• Bio of Tillman at the University of the Arts London
  University of the Arts London
  The University of the Arts London, formerly known as the London Institute, is a collegiate university comprising six internationally recognised art, design, fashion and media colleges in London, England...