Oliver Cookson, the founder of Myprotein, has sold his Cheshire mansion for £695 million, according to reports. The entrepreneur, who left school at 16 with just one GCSE, built the sports nutrition company from a £500 overdraft into a £350 million business.
Cookson started Myprotein in 2004 after a trip to Australia sparked a passion for fitness. While drinking a protein shake at his mother's house, he wondered if he could make a cheaper, quicker version himself. He taught himself web development and created a website to sell his homemade protein powder.
To buy his first sack of whey, Cookson approached his bank for a loan but was rejected. Instead, they increased his overdraft to £500, allowing him to purchase the ingredients. He blended and flavoured the powder, listed it online, and sold out immediately. The business grew rapidly, and he soon quit his job as a web developer to focus on Myprotein full-time.
Within a few years, Myprotein became the number one sports nutrition online company in Europe. In 2011, Cookson sold the company to The Hut Group for £350 million in cash. He was later named the UK's top self-made millionaire under 40 and appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List.
Cookson now lives in Monte Carlo but says Manchester will always be his home. The sale of his Cheshire mansion marks another milestone in his remarkable journey from a £500 overdraft to a multi-million-pound fortune.
