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A former Savile Row manager who followed her dream of a career in construction is the first woman builder to be ranked among Britain's 10 best tradespeople.
Sarah Wain, 38, who has worked for royalty, restaurateurs, film producers and actors, beat hundreds of male rivals.
She turned to construction 13 years ago after the sudden death of her parents. She now has a waiting list of at least six months and operates by recommendation only. Women represent 1.7 per cent of the manual workforce in construction, according to training watchdog CITB. Of the 324,500 employed, the vast majority have non-manual roles.
At 5ft 4in, Ms Wain said life on a building site was hard. "It is more hard work for a woman to do all this lifting and the job is fantastically demanding, but I'm deceptively strong," she said.
Ms Wain, who grew up in Notting Hill and now lives in Willesden, joined Gieves & Hawkes after university. She left aged 23 after her mother Rosalind died from a blood clot and her father Roger broke his neck falling down stairs.
After a building apprenticeship, she launched her company House To Home. She is now converting a former church hall in Notting Hill.
She said: "I'm delighted to have been rated one of the top builders." The award was run by TrustMark.
