Peter collinge awarded obe in 2012 new year's honours

Peter Collinge, chairman of Andrew Collinge Hairdressing, was awarded an OBE in the 2012 New Year's Honours List. Andrew joined the industry in 1942 and opened his first salon ten years later. He established a training programme for stylists in the 1970s, training thousands of budding hairdressers before passing the business over to his son Andrew (managing director) and daughter Sarah (director of training) as well his daughter-in-law, Liz (HR director). The Liverpool-based salon group now has branches in Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire as well as two successful training salons which serve apprenticeships to more than 100 young stylists each year. Peter said: ""It was a great surprise and a great honour to hear that I would be receiving an award. It is also a credit to our company and the many young hairdressers we have trained over the years. We wouldn't be the company we are today without our loyal clientele, some families have been clients for three generations. I have been hairdressing for 70 years; I paid 25 guineas for an apprenticeship when I started in hairdressing and it has been a wonderful career for me. I have simply carried this on. Investing in young people and providing them with a great training has been the backbone of our company and made it strong. We have trained thousands of hairdressers over the years, some have worked for us and others have opened their own salons. I am proud to have contributed to Liverpool in this way."