Ian Scarr-Hall: As Britain expanded in the post-war era, GSH saw rapid growth. We opened branches in London, Glasgow and Ireland and slowly managed to build up a national presence in the UK. Big companies increasingly had their head offices in London, so I spent a lot of time in the centre of London, negotiating orders and contracts for companies for whose buildings we provided heating installations and air conditioning. 1962 was a milestone year for us. We introduced our first fleet of vehicles and also secured our first GBP 1 million contract. It was then that GSH became known throughout Britain for its high-quality facilities management services. As a next step, we expanded to the Netherlands, our first branch outside of the UK. We started from scratch there, which meant that we literally had to walk around and knock-on doors to introduce ourselves. It helped that Dutch people had a very good level of English. I became quite good at this. After having knocked on many doors, I knew exactly what to say and my sales pitch became rather efficient. We manged to grow the Dutch business quickly. Obviously, we also went through some tough times. In the 1970s, interest rates in the UK shot up and big companies, especially property companies, were not able to service their loans anymore. As a consequence, the property sector collapsed. At that stage, the majority of our clients were from the property sector, and we had to upkeep a huge payroll for our staff. We therefore had to ask ourselves: what can we do? My motto has always been "if you want business, the best way to do it is to do it yourself", also to see first-hand where the challenges are. So, I took a risk and flew to Qatar and Dubai. Back then I quickly learnt that instead of saying "I've come to check" it is better to say, "I'm here looking for a partner". I was lucky enough to get a business meeting with the former first secretary to the ruler in Dubai. The thing that actually made him listen to me was when I said, "I own GSH and I'm here, looking for a partner." Ultimately, I was able to secure two large contracts and we managed to overcome this difficult period. My father died in 1987 and I took over the management of the company. Having already led its international expansion in previous decades, I continued the company's strategic growth by establishing operations across Europe and, in 1996, in the United States, where we rapidly developed a strong reputation in mechanical maintenance and energy management. In 2009, Rachael, my daughter, joined the company, and in 2015, she became GSH's first lady chairman.