Welsh entrepreneur turns grandmother's house side hustle into £10m fashion brand

A fashion side hustle that began in a grandmother's house in Manchester has grown into a brand turning over £10m, the BBC reported.

Olivia Prince, 31, originally from Conwy, launched Murci after working as a receptionist during the Covid pandemic. While working in an empty building, she spent time buying and reselling clothes from wholesale websites, using her grandmother's house as a base.

According to the BBC, Prince studied fashion buying and merchandising at Manchester Metropolitan University and completed a placement at major fashion brand Boohoo. After graduating, she started her side venture while working as a receptionist, believing she had "nothing to lose".

The business has since expanded significantly. In June, The Times ranked Murci among the 20 fastest-growing companies in the UK. The brand now employs 35 staff and has featured on TV show Love Island.

Prince told the BBC that working at Boohoo was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and that she "learned more then than I did at university". A business expert quoted by the BBC said the UK had a "bustling side hustle culture", though noted that high-level success was "difficult to replicate".