WHEN Peter Jackson opened his first jewellery shop in 1982 he was just 18.

Thirty five years later he has a chain of five successful shops around the North West, including one in Blackburn town centre.

He has no idea who nominated him for Hive’s Business Person awards, but insisted he would never have put himself forward.

He said: “I’m very flattered and the fact that I’ve been judged worthy of being a finalist is brilliant.”

Peter’s first shop was in Preston, but within six years he opened a second premises in Blackburn.

He said: “It was on a dark corner of the shopping centre, but I had a vision. We put bright lights in and filled with the window with jewellery – and it wasn’t a dark corner anymore.”

His philosophy is business is based on respect, not just for his customers, for whom he aims to provide the very best products, environment and service, but also for his staff.

He said: “I have a huge amount of respect for the team. More than half of our employees have been with us for more than five years and that loyalty is rewarded with extra perks.

“You spend a third of your life at work and I’d like to think they go home at the end of the day feeling like they’ve achieved something.”

He said: “We’re very good at what we do, but we should never say we’re good enough.”