Meet the siblings continuing the legacy of their family business
Beverley-based siblings, Simon Duncan and Hannah Stillings, are marking the first anniversary of their takeover of GreenThumb Beverley & Hull, a family-run business previously managed by their now-retired parents.
The pair oversee more than 50,000 lawn treatments each year, maintaining the family tradition of providing tailored lawn care services to homes and businesses in East Yorkshire for nearly a quarter of a century.
Born and raised in Beverley, Simon and Hannah first dipped their toes into the world of GreenThumb as teenagers, earning some extra cash during school holidays by assisting with administrative duties and lawn upkeep.
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Now, with their parents fully retired, the sibling duo have taken their new franchise to greater heights, managing a fleet of 10 branded vans from their Beverley depot, backed by a team of 16 full-time staff, including nine seasoned lawn operatives.
After being made redundant from the hospitality sector in October 2020, Simon seized the chance to switch his career direction and started working full-time with his parents in 2021, with the intention of taking over once they retired. Now, he's taken on the role of running the franchise alongside his sister, restructuring the business and handling the day-to-day operations, finance, and sales and marketing.
His sister Hannah manages HR and compliance, while also working part-time for East Riding of Yorkshire Council in education. With their combined years of transferable management skills, including business planning and strategy, sales and marketing, people management and customer service, Simon and Hannah are now driving the growth of this well-established local business.
Simon Duncan, co-director of GreenThumb Beverley & Hull, expressed his pride and excitement in running a well-respected local business. He said: "Hannah and I are really proud and excited to be running such a well-respected and recognised local business and honoured that our parents have trusted us to carry on this legacy.
"Next year, we will be celebrating a significant milestone of 25 years and we look forward to marking this with our loyal customers who have trusted us with their lawn care needs for so many years. Looking to the future, we are truly excited about the growth of the business and our commitment to keeping the community at the centre of everything we do."
Hannah Stilling, the other co-director, added: "My brother and I remain deeply committed to making an important impact in the area now that we are at the helm of GreenThumb Beverley & Hull. We are looking to expand our brilliant workforce by creating employment opportunities for the local community, which in turn contributes to the local economy as we will be hiring local talent.
"Excellent customer care has always been at the core of our business and it is our mission to maintain this consistent and high-quality service for every customer."
GreenThumb Beverley supports and partners with local sports clubs from grassroots to professional, including Beverley Town F.C., Hull City and Beverley & East Riding Golf Club. With Hannah’s close links with Elloughton Primary School, the franchise is also providing free lawn care services to ensure the field and social areas for the pupils are well maintained.
Based in Beverley, GreenThumb caters to lawns across Beverley and almost all of East Riding, as well as Hull, Filey, Spurn Point, Goole and Hunmanby. It forms part of a national network of over 220 local territories, many of which are franchised, with more than 2.5 million treatments carried out each year by professional and caring lawn care teams.