Gary Neville’s new venture with Ryan Giggs at Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester is a restaurant run by top chef Niall Keating – a far cry from the pub where he romanced his future wife Emma.
Gary Neville was part of the most successful Premier League football team of all time, the Class of 92 – alongside David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, and Phil Neville, who have all gone on to excel as businessmen after their stellar football careers under Sir Alex Ferguson. Cheshire Life sat down to chat with the acclaimed sports pundit and his wife, Emma, at Tender, the new restaurant at Manchester’s Stock Exchange, the hotel Gary owns with Ryan Giggs, and also caught a word with its award-winning chef Niall Keating.
Tell us about growing up
Gary: I was born in Bury and lived in a small terraced house with me and two siblings in one bedroom and Mum and Dad in the other. We were a very sporty family. My mum played hockey and my dad played cricket. We went to football and I always had a ball at my feet. But I also remember being at my grandparents’ homes, especially on my mum’s side, as they lived across the street, and so they would look after us too, with my nan baking cakes and Grandad telling us stories from the Second World War and showing us his medals. Manchester United was a big part of my childhood as the club formed my hopes and dreams. It was all about the red shirt. I think I let myself down academically at school as I was so focused on football, having got into United at 11 with a schoolboy contract and then an apprenticeship from the age of 14.I was going to be there until 18, so my academic studies became secondary. Looking back, I hate the idea of my children or any other young football player not applying themselves, as education is so important. Only one in every 20 kids who go into football make it.
Emma: I grew up in Middleton as the youngest of four, so I was the brew maker of the family. I shared a room with my sister and would watch her getting ready to go out. I would think to myself, I can’t wait to be old enough to put makeup on and go out clubbing. I was a very girlie girl. My dad was a gardener while Mum stayed at home to look after us until we got older, and then when she was 40, she got a job as a Mars confectionery rep. I was quite sporty, being on the school netball and football teams, but my passion was music and boy bands. I was obsessed with Take That.
Gary: And you still are. She’s going to see them in concert again tonight.
Emma: Yes. It will be the third time this week.
Who were your biggest influencers growing up?
Gary: Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside were my childhood heroes but as I get older I look back and appreciate the time and effort my parents and my nan and grandad took in looking after us and taking us to football every week. Their principles and values were and are so important to me. My mum’s dad, though, is my true hero. To me, he was the perfect male role model. He worked every day up until four weeks before he died aged 81 and looked after everyone in the family. He was wounded twice during World War Two and would show us the shrapnel scars but he never complained. He was my coping mechanism at United; when I had difficult moments I would think: Shut up, Gary, this isn’t difficult compared to what Grandad has been through. My dad gave me my seize-the-day attitude but my grandad is my ultimate hero.
Emma: My mum and dad. Even now I speak to my mum up to five times a day – we are very close. I have very fond memories of my dad’s dad too.
Gary, tell us about your journey into the spotlight as a teenager. Did it help to have your brother, Phil, with you?
I remember the early years at United, and wanting to prove myself. There was a lot of scrutiny but I felt quite shielded as other players in the team, such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Eric Cantona, were in the spotlight more than me. I think I get recognised more now than I did as a player. It certainly helped having Phil with me as we could go through highs and lows together but I have to say that in the team we were all brothers. There were 22 in our squad and we were all so close so it really did help coming through in a committed and spirited group where we all felt like brothers.
Do you think that there are the same bonds within football now?
We had something special. I’ve known Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt since I was 12, David Beckham since I was 14… There are still teams with great spirit. Football is a good example of how society should be when it’s done well – you have local players, players from the rest of the country, players from Europe and the rest of the world, all coming together as a family and working together with one goal, which is to be good at what they do and enjoy life and football. If we ran the country like this and accepted each other in that way, things would be so much better.
There are many similarities between football and society: there are teams with cliques and divides, there are teams with poor culture, poor language, poor examples… When you see good leadership and teams looking after one another, that makes all the difference. What I have learnt over the years in the dressing room and on the pitch has helped in all my businesses.
How important was Sir Alex Ferguson in your success?
Leadership is everything. The Boss was everything. You know when you play ten-pin bowling and you can put the guard rails up to keep the bowling ball in the lane? Well that’s what a great leader does. They give you the space but help to keep you on track. You have to work hard, take risks, be passionate. You have to have the guidance. And we did.
How did you two meet?
Emma: It was December 28, 2003 and I was out with a friend in Walkabout on Quay Street in Manchester; we were on dates that weren’t going very well so we decided to go to Sugar Lounge for more drinks.
Gary: We had played that afternoon away to Middlesbrough and travelled back to Manchester. Me and Giggsy shared a flat and we would have a couple of relaxing beers post-game so we went to the Sugar Lounge.
We had our club blazers on, which Giggsy would always say was my best ‘pulling’ outfit. Then I saw her. Emma was wearing a white blazer and fitted jeans, and I remember thinking how smart she looked. She looked classy. Emma’s friend, Nicol Philbin, knew Ryan, and Ryan said: ‘Gary fancies your mate.’ Nicol in her broad Scouse accent said: ‘She’s too good for him.’ That really took me by surprise but I still passed my number to Nicol to give to Emma.
Emma: I was actually very drunk at the time but I did text him the day after... Although it took him nearly two weeks to get back to me.
Gary: Our first date was at the Living Room in Manchester but the real test for me was our second date, taking her to the Wellington pub in Bury for the quiz. It would have been so easy to take her to a fancy restaurant but I wanted to take her to the places I love and see what she thought. And the rest is history.
Emma: We got married in 2007.
Gary, while you were playing professionally did you start to diversify into the business arena and what were the first steps that you made?
When I was mid-to-late twenties I invested in a mechanical electrical design consultancy with a friend. That led to me becoming very interested in property-related activities such as contracting, designing, developing etc. I have University Academy 92 (aimed at fast-tracking students’ careers and providing top talent for future business successes), Hotel Football at Old Trafford, and The Overlap (the multi-award-winning YouTube podcast with Gary, Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, and Ian Wright). Some of these projects I have done with the Class of 92, some with other partners and some on my own. I built my first house at the age of 21/22 and we’ve moved every three or four years and I’ve never stopped building and selling. We’ve moved nine times in 20 years. However, the house we’re in at the moment in central Manchester, we’ve been in it for five years.
Do you still get to see your old teammates regularly, especially your fellow Class of 92 players?
I still see a lot of the lads – Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney. They come on as guests on The Overlap too.
You have Hotel Football, Café Football, and Stock Exchange Hotel and Tender restaurant with Ryan Giggs. Why did you decide on hospitality as one of your business ventures?
We used to spend three nights a week at a hotel, always staying at the Lowry Hotel before home games. We lived most of our lives in hotels at home and abroad and I used to love the excitement of walking into a hotel room, seeing what it was like and the facilities the hotel had. I’ve been passionate about hotels for many years and I’ve stayed in good, bad and excellent ones, so it was an easy step for me to get into the industry. But it was the food and beverage side I needed help with, which is why we now have Niall Keating on board at Tender. He’s the expert.
The hospitality industry was hit particularly hard during Brexit and Covid. How did you manage both of those challenges?
All our staff needed to be paid during Covid. But there’s a great spirit in the British people – a resilience. We are a family here and supporting each other is how we got through that and every challenge.
Read more fantastic interviews inside the latest edition of Cheshire Life
Can you describe Stock Exchange Hotel?
I feel as if we are custodians of this wonderful building, taking care of a piece of history for future generations. It’s only got 40 bedrooms so it’s an intimate hotel. We are extremely proud of it.
What is special about Tender by Niall Keating? We’ve got a beautiful building and a really talented chef creating tasty dishes with great, quality ingredients. Plus we have live music daily. I don’t think many places have this combination.
Tell us about your collaboration with Niall
Niall has achieved two Michelin stars so his talent is evident. He’s from Stoke-on-Trent but wanted to move to Manchester to be based here, which is the only way this kind of arrangement can work. His passion for food and for creating amazing sharing platters for people to enjoy is brilliant – it’s food to share and to celebrate.
What’s your favourite dish on the menu?
Gary: Halibut, and the lobster roll.
Emma: I love the lobster roll too but my favourite is jam-cinnaroll – I am such a dessert girl.
What is home life like for you?
Gary: When you have a football career, you think home life is going to get better in terms of seeing each other when you retire. But the reality then was I could go home most afternoons to rest when we had games coming up, so we would watch films together. It’s a cycle of train, rest, eat, play, repeat, so I would see Emma quite a lot. But since I’ve retired and I have various businesses, I’m out every day from 7am and don’t get in until 6 or 7pm. Then our two girls, Sophie and Molly, are out every night too, playing netball.
Emma, you’re a counsellor and menopause coach – tell us about your journey into these careers and This Is Me. (@emmanevillethisisme is a space for women to find community as they navigate life’s challenges together)
I always knew I wanted to be a counsellor so as the girls got older I trained. The biggest honour for me is when someone opens up to you and tells you about their journeys in life; it is such a privilege. My placement was in the brilliant Bury Cancer Support Centre where the counselling varied and included bereavement counselling. I was coming to the end of my training when we went into lockdown in March 2020. I had a huge workload with assignments but our training switched from classroom to online. I thought I was never going to get through it. Then aged 39, my periods stopped. I thought it was due to stress, when in fact it was perimenopause. I was also diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency, which meant my ovaries stopped working properly. I felt very sad and isolated as it was as if my body was ageing prematurely.
Then I discovered Adele Johnston, the Menopause Coach, and joined her online course to educate myself on various things, including the endocrine system and nutrition, every Thursday with an amazing group of 13 women. It empowered me and for the first time, I thought: ‘I can do this.’ It also inspired me to launch This Is Me on Instagram, which is a page dedicated to women’s health and wellness with a particular focus on menopause to highlight the fact it can happen to younger women. It was a big step as I went from being a very private individual to suddenly putting myself out there publicly. I started to get lots of women reaching out to me. I always reply to every single person who contacts me and I’m loving helping women in any way I can. I’m growing this organically and getting used to delivering talks to groups of women, which is incredible for me as public speaking was never something I found easy to do. So, I have to thank the menopause for giving me a voice and the confidence to use it.
Emma, what are your three top tips for women staying healthy as they get older?
Our bodies give us warning signals and it’s so important that we understand them.
1. Nutrition – get your healthy fats and oils in and eat leafy greens, fruit and different coloured veggies. Eat the rainbow.
2. Sleep. I try to unwind before bedtime and take magnesium supplements an hour before bed, which helps me to relax.
3. Move your body – whether it’s walking the dog or taking the stairs instead of the lift.
How do you look after yourselves physically and mentally?
Gary: I train four or five times a week at 6.30am. But I absolutely love chocolate – especially the huge Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.
Emma: I used to be a HIIT kind of girl, favouring fast-paced workouts, but now I do yoga and I love reformer Pilates – it’s my happy place. The breathwork in yoga helps me too. I have a brilliant trainer, Beki Gerrard, who pushes me
READ MORE: 2024 Cheshire Life Food & Drink Awards - the winners
Where are your favourite places in Cheshire?
Gary:
1. The Overlap studios at the THG group in Altrincham, where I film my football podcast for YouTube.
2. Village Cafe in Hale.
3. Gupshup restaurant in Hale.
Emma:
1. Wilmslow. I have lots of lovely friends who live there.
2. Tatton Park. Gary and I are going on the stage there for Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place on August 31. I love Fearne.
3. Chester. I adore the history of the city and Gary Barlow was born near there.
If you could give your younger selves any advice, what would it be?
Gary: I have really loved my life but I lost my dad eight years ago and he’s the one great void in my life, so perhaps treasure the moments with him more and see if I could do anything more to help him.
Emma: Go for it. Don’t hold yourself back. Never abuse your body, invest in it and make it your masterpiece..
On November 28, Gary and Emma Neville will present The Great Mancunian Ball 2024, in support ofthe Build It Together Appeal at St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green.
The evening at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International at Water Street in Manchester, will start with Gary’s YouTube sensation The Overlap live on stage, where he will be joined by Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Jill Scott and Roy Keane, delving into the hottest sporting issues and fielding questions from the audience. A three-course dinner will be followed by music from the Swan Band. See newhospice.sah.org.uk/the-great-mancunian-ball/
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