Entered Wine Trade in 1949 as a trainee with J.L.P. Lebegue. Passed exam in 1956 and joined Geo. Idle, Chapman, a leading market house specialising in liqueurs, with the brief of developing the company's wine business. After sale of the company to Grand Metropolitan Hotels and the formation of Courtenay Wines, purchased a small business in the New Forest owning shops in Lymington and Lyndhurst and a pub in Bournemouth. Ultimately, opened further shops and bars in Bournemouth and on the Isle of Wight and became the leading independent wholesaler of wines and spirits in Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight. Finally sold out and retired in 1992.