A 20-year-old entrepreneur who manufactures estate agents’ signs is to open a second production hub in the new year.

It will be in Birmingham and will start by employing six to eight people.

Chris Rundle left school at 16 and the next day bought a business called GK Signs for £10,000 using his own savings plus a small inheritance.

He went to work in premises on an industrial estate in Exeter and built the business up.

Today, he employs over 50 people – including one of his former teachers – and has a multi-million pound turnover, all achieved without bank finance.

He said: “Banks wouldn’t lend to me when I started, as I was under 18.

“Now, of course, the company is too big for start-up loans, so it’s all been down to hard graft and expanding when I could afford to.”

As managing director of GK Signs, he still works a 16-hour day and his customers include the likes of Persimmon Homes, Countrywide and a large number of smaller estate agents.

The new production unit in Birmingham offers space of over 20,000 sq ft.