I started selling clothes from my nana's house - now I'm turning over £10m

Image source, Olivia Prince Image caption, Olivia Prince, founder of Murci, started the business from humble surroundings By Angharad Thomas BBC Wales Published 2 July 2026 Updated 2 hours ago Olivia always loved fashion, but never imagined a side hustle from her grandmother's house would grow into a brand turning over £10m. That brand, Murci, has since featured on TV show Love Island, and has seen her move from her nana's to a site for her 35 staff. After completing a placement at major brand Boohoo, Olivia Prince, 31, started working as a receptionist, which is when she began selling clothes on a website as a side venture. It has grown to such an extent that in June, The Times ranked her label among the 20 fastest‑growing companies in the UK , external . A business expert said the UK had a "bustling side hustle culture", but that high-level success was "difficult to replicate". Olivia, originally from Conwy, loved experimenting with styling and clothes as a teenager. She went on to study fashion buying and merchandising at Manchester Metropolitan University and won a placement at the city's major international fashion brand Boohoo. "I think one fear of mine was obviously going to university and then not being able to get a job after it, especially in the field that I wanted," she said. "So I thought if I get a placement, even though it'll take me an extra year to graduate, hopefully that's a foot in the door." Olivia said it was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for somebody like her "to come from Wales and land their first job at Boohoo". She said: "You had to make a really creative CV to show off your skills... I can't draw but I was like, 'how cool would it to be to have this leather jacket with my CV all across the back of it?'" Image source, MURCI Image caption, Olivia says Murci has a unique look, with placement prints which set it apart from high street garments Olivia stayed at Boohoo for an extra six months after her placement ended, adding: "I learned more then than I did at university, so it was so beneficial going." After graduating, Olivia worked as a receptionist during the Covid pandemic in an "empty building" and was able to spend time on her side hustle buying and reselling clothes from wholesale websites. She used her grandmother's house in Manchester as a base to launch her business and said she had "nothing to lose". Olivia later re-branded and named the business Murci, deciding to include a "unique" look with "placement prints". Her breakthrough moment came after Millie Court walked into the Love Island villa in 2021 wearing a Murci two-piece outfit. The brand sold a few hundred of them and Olivia spent the next day handwriting the labels and sending off orders. Image source, Olivia Prince Image caption, Olivia had hundreds of orders to pack up after Millie Court wore Murci's statement halter neck printed top and mini skirt From there, Olivia decided it was time to quit her job and put her "own stamp" on things. She sai