Tributes paid to Flexeserve founder
The founder and chairman of the group behind hot holding experts Flexeserve has passed away following a short illness.
Alan Nuttall founded the Alan Nuttal Partnership - of which Flexeserve is part - served his business for 56 years before moving into a less active role in 2022.
Born in 1942, he assumed the position of the Partnership 's founder having placed the employee-owned business in a strong position.
The Yorkshireman 's entrepreneurial journey began in in 1966 when he launched Alan Nuttall Ltd specialising in greengrocery shopfitting with just £137.
He was inspired by the self-service fruit shops he saw in the US and developed the UK 's first self-service system for fruiterers in 1975.
The system is still in common use today having been adopted by many major supermarkets including Asda and Morrisons.
This led him to create Fruity Fruits, which went on to be the largest independent fresh produce wholesale and retail business, employing 650 people in the UK when it was sold to Birmingham Co-op in 1989.
Among his many achievements, Alan celebrated two Queen 's Awards for Enterprise, awarded twice in the Innovation category - first in 2005 and again in 2022. He also met Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family at the opening event for one of his landmark shopfitting projects for the prestigious Fortnum & Mason.
Alan leaves behind his beloved wife of 56 years, Jacqueline, as well as two daughters, a grandson and great grandson.
The Alan Nuttall Partnership - a globally-operating business - employs in excess of 200 partners across two locations.
Jamie Joyce, CEO of Flexeserve, said: “Alan was an inspirational mentor. He had a way of nurturing people to reach their potential - I experienced this first-hand. I 've known him for my entire career, and without him, I would not be where I am today. I 'm forever grateful and will miss him tremendously - both professionally and personally. ”
Flexeserve is a patron of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and its Transatlantic Chamber division.
Words of condolence can be left here.