Parcels entrepreneur stars as secret millionaire
March 29th 2010 Parcel2Go founder Fil Adams-Mercer has starred on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire.
Adams-Mercer agreed to live undercover and survive on the Job Seeker’s Allowance and was forced to reassess his views on the unemployed.
He also experienced at first hand the incredible work of a range of charities which provided support for cancer sufferers, the disadvantaged trying to find work and an organisation recycling and distributing unwanted furniture.
Apart from surviving on the Job Seeker’s Allowance, Fil was forced to live in a damp, cold house with no television and only a small electric heater to keep him warm.
He went undercover to examine the issues surrounding having to relocate from your home town to another part of the country in order to find work.
Fil said: “Making the programme was a fascinating experience and one which forced me to question some of my views on the subject of unemployment.
“From the moment I arrived at the house with no TV and little or no heating, the whole experience was eye opening. There is no question the programme forced me to face up to some of my long held prejudices regarding the unemployed.”
The charities Fil encountered during his time on the programme included the Firefly Club, a cancer awareness and support charity.
Fil, who himself battled back from malignant melanoma a number of years ago, found the work of the charity inspirational and presented the organisation with a cheque for £20,000 to help them buy a desperately needed people carrier.
He also donated £10,000 to the Tricon Foundation, which helps the disadvantaged in South Yorkshire find work and a further £10,000 to Refurnish, a charity which collects, recycles and sells on unwanted furniture. In addition, the charity trains people to become tradesmen.
Fil made two final individual donations of £5,000 each, one to a young café owner and the second to a woman working for Refurnish who had been put into care at the age of five and devotes her life to caring for her 22-year-old autistic son.
Adams-Mercer founded Bolton-based Parcel2Go which now has a turnover of more than £11 million. More articles from Handling & Storage Solutions: | 
