Phil was brought up in Kendal in Cumbria and went to Queen Katherine School before studying for a degree in Business Studies at Leeds University. He followed this by studying Law also in Leeds and taking the Law Society's professional exams. He trained at Clyde & Co Solicitors in London and qualified as a solictor in 1994. He worked as Head of Legal for Lookers plc in Manchester specialising in property and company law.
In 1999 Phil established Mango Homes with Architect Kevin Kennedy. Mango's first project was the restoration of a saw mill which had been derelict for many years - Mayroyd Mill in Hebden Bridge. The project won an award from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
This was followed by the conversion of Melbourne Mill also in Hebden Bridge to become eighteen apartments. It had been derelict for over twelve years and had structural problems.
2005 saw the restoration of an entire derelict hamlet of cottages and barns Trowan near St Ives in Cornwall. This project received national recognition and was reported in the Times, Observer and Telegraph and was supported by the National Trust.
In 2006, Mango went on to win the prestigious Yorkshire Renaissance award for its restoration of a grade II listed textile mill at Pecket Well in Yorkshire.
2007 saw the careful restoration of Ashley House in Ripon which is a large detached Italianate built by a wealthy timber merchant in the 1870s. Also in 2007 Mango also established a base in Berlin and started working on historic apartment buildings.
In 2008 Mango completed the painstaking restoration of the Abbey Warehouse in Penzance with the support of the Heritage Lottery. The project made the national headlines with the discovery of a network 200 year old smuggler’s tunnels. This project recieved the Cornich Architecture Award in 2008.
Mango is currently working on projects in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire; St Ives, Cornwall; Manchester, Paris and Berlin.
