Interview: entrepreneur Steve Timoney on his move from SMS boss to owner of East Kilbride-based basketball team Caledonia Gladiators
Steve Timoney is the owner of Caledonia Gladiators, having along with wife Alison bought the East Kilbride-based basketball team in 2022, and last year committed a £20 million investment in a new arena in the town for the club. That came after the businessman in 1995 founded Smart Metering Systems (SMS), whose £1.3 billion sale to an NYC private equity firm was announced in December 2023. And he has “mixed feelings” about the deal, explaining: “I’ve had everything I would have hoped to get from it, but I’m letting something go that means a lot to me.”
The entrepreneur, who grew up in Easterhouse and started his career as a gas engineer, and whose other business interests include luxury hotel Crossbasket Castle, also says: “The greatest joy I get now is helping people develop a real sense of self-belief. I came from one of the most deprived areas in Europe – and people didn’t believe I could do it. I had times in my life that were hard, but it made me focus intensely on success – and I found strength to punch through. I want to help those people going through same difficulties and desperation.”
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