The Timpson Story
From 1865 to today, Timpson has always been famous
for doing things a little differently.
A family business built on a culture of kindness
Timpson is the name you can trust, and we’re proud to be the UK’s leading service retailer.
150+ Years of History
Founded in 1865 by William Timpson, we’ve been a family-run business for over 6 generations.
Outstanding Service
Our “upside down management” culture gives colleagues total freedom to amaze our customers.
1300+ Shops
You’ll find our shops across the UK high street, along with 400+ pods and 1000+ key machines.
Timpson Foundation
We help prisoners get back into work and are one of the biggest employers of ex-offenders in the UK.
Fair Tax Mark
No schemes. No funny stuff. We’re proud to achieve accreditation from the Fair Tax Mark.
King’s Award
We received a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise in 2024, for Promoting Opportunity Through Social Mobility.
Timpson has a story unlike any other
We’ve come a long way since 1865, but we’ve always stuck to our key principles of trust, kindness, inclusion, loyalty and generosity.
William Timpson founded Timpson Ltd and opened our first shop on Oldham Street, Manchester. After introducing shoe repairs in 1903, the business continued to expand, and we celebrated opening our 200th shop in 1947.
Our famous key cutting services were introduced in 1967, before introducing watch repairs years later in 1997.
After making our first major acquisition in 1995, Timpson has since grown into the business you see today. Big high street names such as Max Spielmann, Snappy Snaps and Johnsons are now part of the Timpson family, along with our newer hospitality businesses and much more!
Timpson likes to do things “upside down”
Our “Upside Down Management” style puts our in-store colleagues in charge. They have total authority to do whatever they can to amaze our customers.
This makes colleagues, customers and managers much happier! It looks a little something like this:
Timpson is all about putting people first
Great people are at the heart of everything we do, so we put a focus on raising smiles, spreading happiness and making dreams come true.
Amazing Benefits
Our colleagues enjoy incredible bonuses, discounts, free holiday homes, rewards, and other benefits!
Acts of Kindness
From free services to supporting vulnerable people, we love surprising colleagues and customers with our generosity.
Great Personalities
Forget about qualifications, we recruit solely on personality - so our inclusive culture welcomes people of all backgrounds.
Join the Timpson family and become our next superstar
Thinking of joining Timpson? Your adventure starts with a casual interview, excellent training and outstanding career progression opportunities.
We’re looking for people with personalities that rate 9 or 10/10, so view our full list of vacancies below and join our team of friendly faces!
