Member Article

Former professional footballer aims to make fortune from junk

A Yorkshire entrepreneur, and ex-professional footballer, is hoping to strike gold collecting junk from homes and businesses after stumbling on an enterprising idea whilst visiting his American wife’s parents in Las Vegas.

Jason Helliwell, who was on Sheffield United’s books for four years in the 1990s, was on holiday when he came across Canadian company 1-800-GOT-JUNK, which has over 1,000 trucks operating across Canada and the United States.

On returning to the UK with wife Erinn, he established his own version in the UK, which he has branded XS-Junk.

The Sheffield and Barnsley-based company currently runs three trucks covering West and South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

By January, Jason aims to have doubled the number of trucks to six and is on course for a first year turnover of more than £250,000. The company currently employs eight people.

Jason, who lives in Ulley, near Sheffield, wants to continue expanding across the North of England and Midlands and then build his brand across the rest of the UK.

He said: “I spotted the idea while visiting Erinn’s parents in Las Vegas where her father is a pilot. I saw how successful 1-800-GOT-JUNK was in the US and Canada and thought it could work just as well in the UK.

“The reaction we have had from customers to date has been fantastic. We have created a brand which is easily identifiable and customer service is really important with our dedicated call centre.

“We also provide fixed prices for customers based on the amount of junk they need removing and we have a policy of re-using or recycling as much as possible.

“Among the items we will clear are furniture, mattresses, garage junk, garden waste, toys and old electrical appliances. We also cost half the price of a skip hire and our staff always clear up before they leave a property.

“We have had lots of people calling us to come out and quote when they have been following our vehicles around town.”

Prior to setting up XS-Junk, Jason ran a multi-million pound turnover scrap recycling business, which he recently sold.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .