How Russell Teale turned school lettings into a £12M success story

A panic attack and personal loss reshaped his priorities. Now, his startup is transforming school budgets—and his own legacy.

, and Administrator

2026 May 13 . 4:02 AM

1 min read

The image shows a woman entrepreneur wearing a black and white jacket and an orange dress, standing... — The image shows a woman entrepreneur wearing a black and white jacket and an orange dress, standing in front of a backdrop of trees, vehicles, and the sky. On the right side of the image, there is a logo and some text which reads "A woman entrepreneur is a passionate woman who achieves her dreams. She is a woman with purpose, a gladiator of life in short, she is the creator of her success."

How Russell Teale turned school lettings into a £12M success story

Russell Teale launched Vivify in 2020 to help schools rent out their facilities after hours. The business has since returned over £10 million to schools while growing rapidly. Now employing 500 people, the company is on track to increase its turnover from £8 million to £12 million this year. Teale’s career began in fitness, where he spent nearly a decade as operations director at Total Fitness before leaving in 2017. He later took on a similar role at School Letting Solutions, gaining experience in facility management. His entrepreneurial journey included founding FiTR, a fitness app likened to Uber, before starting Vivify at 37.

A personal health scare in 2019 marked a turning point. After suffering a panic attack—initially feared to be a heart attack—he refocused his priorities. Tragedy struck again in 2022 when his mother, Janice, passed away from blood cancer on New Year’s Day. Despite these challenges, Vivify thrived. Teale bootstrapped the company until 2022, when he secured £1 million in funding from Arete. The investment round included high-profile backers like Bill Currie and former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy. By 2023, the firm had raised £2 million in total and expanded its workforce to 500 employees. Recognition followed in 2025 when Teale received the Judges' Award at the Northern Leaders Awards.

Vivify’s model has already returned millions to schools while scaling its operations. With turnover projected to rise and a growing team, the company continues to expand its impact. Teale’s leadership has steered the business through both personal and professional milestones.