Giles began his career at an estate agent firm at the age of 21 with no academic qualifications. He landed his first job stating, "I'll be the best negotiator you ever had."
Just a year later, he set up his first business, an estate agency in Northampton. Giles has gone on to forge his own path as a highly prolific serial entrepreneur, and in 2009, set up with his sister what would become one of London's leading flexible workplace providers, Office Space in Town.
He has since diversified into a number of luxury businesses, including the elite drinks brand Gunner Cocktails, once a popular recipe during the Jazz Age, now reborn as the 'drink of choice' at the Rod Laver Cup. In 2018, Giles bought the iconic '20s Burgh Island Hotel, which played host to icons of the Roaring '20s including Josephine Baker and was where Agatha Christie wrote her novels, restoring it to be an exemplary preservation of the Art Deco style while enhancing its eco-friendly initiatives.
Highlights
Anything I do, have to do to the, the umpteen percentile.
I love debating, I love learning and the great thing about now is you don’t have to have an argument anymore do you?
I had a great education even though I did badly, it taught me how to get on with people of every strata and every type.
The most important thing about a child is not how it’s brought up but is knowing comprehensively that it’s loved and supported.
Failure is irrelevant.
Confer and Triumph. Be open and you will learn stuff.
All my businesses are run with friends... trust is far more important in business than someone getting it right all the time.
I’m not looking to leave a legacy, I want if I can to live life to the full.
Happiness they say is about the journey, it’s not about the arriving.
I can’t imagine ever stopping.