mum meets: greg mangham, founder & ceo of only a pavement away.

mum is involved and invested in our industry. In this series, we hear from the people behind our charity and not-for-profit partners, who share our mission to make hospitality and recruitment better places to be.

Next up: we talk to Greg Mangham, Founder & CEO of Only a Pavement Away – a charity that acts as a conduit between forward-thinking hospitality employers and charities working with people facing homelessness, prison leavers and veterans who struggling to get into work overcome hurdles by finding jobs within the hospitality, pub and restaurant industry. 

Read on to hear about the shocking catalyst that made Greg want to found Only a Pavement Away, the charity’s proudest achievements so far, and his motivational message for fellow hospitalitarians…

why does only a pavement away exist? 

To act as the pathway for those having faced or facing homelessness, prison-leavers, and veterans suffering from emotional trauma to find careers in hospitality.

what made you want to found only a pavement away? was there a catalyst? 

A walk along the Strand with Gill [Mangham, Greg’s wife] in Sept 2017 where we were amazed by the numbers of rough-sleepers. Gill said someone must be able to help support them and I said, “Well, we’ve got 80,000 vacancies.” So Gill suggested I do something about it. I was then offered a very lucrative consultancy project and Gill said, “We’re going to do what lots of do-gooders do: help a couple of people, then bugger off.” Instead, Only A Pavement Away was born – it was Gill’s concept and idea.

what does your role involve and how did you get where you are today? 

I’m the CEO. I’ve spent… wait for it… 50 years in hospitality – starting as a pot boy and culminating as an ops director. I’ve covered pubs, restaurants, hotels (I got my first verbal warning at the Hilton Park Lane for eating cakes behind the dumb waiter… They were gorgeous, so I’d do it again!), contract catering, and betting. I’ve been everything from Head of HR, to Essential Services Manager at the Barbican, to Ops Director.

what are only a pavement away’s proudest achievements? 

It must be growing into what it is now – Gill and I never expected it. And to see how people flourish, given the chance.

what is only a pavement away’s vision for the future? 

To help 5,000 people over the next five years and be the default charity for the employment of our members into hospitality.

how can our community support only a pavement away? 

Many ways: supporting and taking part in our events, fundraising, offering support and jobs.

what does hospitality mean to you? 

Everything – I love it. What other industry would allow someone to start a charity and support it the way our industry has? I’m not sure any CEOs in construction started as bricklayers.

what do you think are the greatest opportunities and challenges for our industry? 

Outside of rates, taxes and all the issues Kate, Steve and Emma push for, it must be remaining the focal point for its community. We have the opportunity to be so integral to those we work with and serve – a community is only as strong as its hospitality offering.

what motivational message would you like to share with fellow hospitalitarians? 

Just keep on going – easy to say when businesses are going down… But don’t lose sight of how important you are to the UK culture and economy. Sooner or later, politicians will wake up and recognise how important we are.

Find out more about Only a Pavement Away, discover ways to get involved, or donate to help keep their amazing work going.

You can also read about the other ways we give back at mum.