Established In 1973
Leverbrook Export Limited was established in 1973 by our founder Mr. Ken Winstanley and is now a third generation family company. We would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief history of our company and to share with you the story of how Leverbrook Export was formed.
Ken was previously Managing Director at MacSymons Stores, which was a leading wholesaler/distributor to UK hotels, ships stores, schools, and more. In 1972, he was made redundant from MacSymons and with not having found alternative employment in the UK, he decided to take up a new opportunity abroad.
Ken travelled to the Middle East, which at the time was scarce of any comforts and low on infrastructure. This is a stark contrast to what we see today, with high quality restaurants, a booming tourist industry and even the world’s first seven-star hotel! He was employed as a buyer of food and drink for a new and exciting venture.
The idea was to have a cruise ship stationed just off the local territorial waters and to be one that featured crowd-drawing acts, such as: Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, and Tom Jones. By offering a new cabaret experience with fine wines and dining, this would have been a first for the Middle East at the time and a really exciting venture to be part of.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this venture failed to take flight and Ken left a few months later, cheque in hand. To his surprise, the cheque bounced and he was left with little to no financial reward for his time in Bahrain.
However, Ken had made a number of good friends and contacts in Bahrain. Using his recent bad luck as motivation and contacts for support, he returned home to start up his own company…Leverbrook Export. The bounced cheque features today on our office wall, and acts as a reminder that Ken’s previous bad luck provided key learning experiences that enabled him to go on to build his own successful company and legacy.
