I didn’t always run a shop. For years I was in senior management, auditing for a multi-national. But I fell out with the company on ethical grounds. I found I could no longer work for an organization that put profit before ethics. So, I resigned. It gave me plenty of time to think about where I went from there…

It was about that time that I got a call from a family friend who ran a small food store. He was in tears, desperate for help. The bailiffs were at his home with a warrant to collect his outstanding council tax bill or remove goods to cover the debt. He was a father of six, trying to do the best by his family and my heart went out to him.

I went to his house and paid the bailiffs the money (around £650).

But my friend was caught in a cycle, with much of his debt the result of money owed to him by restaurants he was supplying.