MICHAEL VAUGHAN: 'SPORTSPEOPLE WILL KILL ME FOR SAYING IT, BUT BUSINESS IS A LOT HARDER THAN SPORT'
It is 25 degrees in Sydney where Michael Vaughan OBE is enjoying some downtime ahead of the third Ashes Test.
The third Test will be held at the Adelaide Oval in North Adelaide and the former England skipper – who lifted the coveted urn back in 2005 – has spent the past few weeks soaking up the atmosphere and despairing at England’s performance.
Manchester-born Vaughan, who played for Yorkshire and now lives in Wilmslow, retired from the game in 2009. He quickly reinvented himself as a broadcaster for the likes of the BBC and now writes sports columns for several newspapers – including the Telegraph.
Now 51, he’s focused on staying involved in cricket for as long as possible, and his side hustle: investing in the UK start-up scene.
How are The Ashes going for you?
I am back in Coogee, Sydney now. It’s the place I always come back to in between games, it’s busier at 6am with people exercising rather than 11pm drinking.
The weather is a little cloudy at the moment, which represents the way England have played cricket so far on this trip. Australia in the second game were so much better than England in all areas of the game.
I’m hoping that as Christmas approaches it can bring a change in quality from the England team.
Why did you choose to go into broadcasting?
I didn’t know what I was going to do when I retired. I’d never had a job before because I was lucky to play cricket in an area where I could be paid for it.
I tried broadcast and really enjoyed it; I really enjoy watching the game and commentating – and I get to meet interesting people.
I’ve been involved in cricket for 33 years and in broadcast for 16 years, so that’s a lot of my cricketing life. I wouldn’t say I have quite mastered it yet but I learned playing cricket that the more you do of anything, the better you get.
Does it pay the bills?
Broadcast is my primary income now, but I like variety of different types of work, that’s what keeps me engaged.
I have a property investment company. I’m especially interested in start-ups and I’ve got involved in quite a few over the last few years as an angel investor.
What’s your latest investment?
I am an investor in Uthful, which makes supplements for the over-35s. The older we get, the more we start to lose the good stuff. Uthful is just one little sachet in your water and it replaces all the nutrients that we are losing
Have you backed many winners?
I’ve had some successes and a few disappointments. My big focus is the wellness space, which is an area I understand well.
I’m no get-the-measure guru, but I can get the measure of whether someone has a strong work ethic and the drive to succeed. I back people, rather than companies. The people are more important than the product.
Why wellness?
I’ve been on a wellness kick for years. I am a dedicated ice bath and sauna man. I have all the equipment in my garden and do a 45-minute routine every day: ice, sauna, plunge.
I’ve had a number of operations on my knees, so there’s some osteoarthritis. The ice and sauna bring down the inflammation. There have been times when I couldn’t move, but now I am able to walk around and play sports.
Have you made any bad investments?
I took some big risks back in early retirement because I was poorly advised. Some came off and some didn’t. If I had my time again, I wouldn’t have taken some of those risks. Just hit the ones and twos and don’t go after the sixes.
Tell me about some poor advice you received
A lot of young sportspeople are badly advised. In your twenties, the last thing you want to think about is the future.
In the 2000s, a lot of sportspeople put into film investment schemes, created by the Government – but some of the companies that were selling the schemes weren’t making the films.
I did invest but fortunately I wasn’t earning enough to really get damaged. I’ve always known that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. That’s why I never touch crypto.
Have you become more savvy over time?
The older I get, the wiser I am to advice; I make my own calls because I know what feels right and what doesn’t. 15 years ago I would make instant gut instinct decisions. I take more time to make decisions these days.
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What advice would you give young sportspeople?
Pay into a really safe fund. Just keep putting in and let it grow, and by the end of your career you’ll have enough money in there to look after you.
Tell me about your property portfolio
I’d like to buy more buy-to-let houses. I like three-bedroom family homes and typically look for those under £140,000 in areas that produce a good yield. We do them up if they need work. We’ve invested in places like Bradford, Middlesbrough, Durham. They’ve been good buys so far. It’s important to have a well-rounded portfolio.
Do you have a pension?
I do have a Self-Invested Personal Pension (Sipp), yes, and that will serve me well when I’m older. I’m not one that looks at stocks and shares constantly, so I have a fund manager who looks after it for me, but it’s been doing well, particularly over the last few years. It will certainly support me in later life.
What do you make of today’s top cricketers earning upwards of £800,000 a year?
You didn’t need as much when I was playing. I remember a Crunchie bar used to be 18p – it’s often over £1 now! Cricketers are paid better these days because it’s a global sport with franchise leagues.
If you’re a good player, you’ll earn good money. That’s great for the players although more needs to be done to get women’s salaries higher.
What’s harder: playing elite sport or running a business?
Sportspeople reading this will kill me for saying it, but business is a lot harder than sport. I was naturally quite good at cricket.
If you’re playing sport at an elite level, you generally have a God-given natural talent, maximised by your work ethic and drive. In business, so many have natural talent, work hard, and still fail because of external challenges.
What kind of challenges?
Any business that employs a lot of human beings is going through a difficult time right now. They are heavily taxed and paying too much National Insurance.
I hope we can reach a stage where the people creating jobs aren’t being penalised for that. I admire anyone building a business right now.
Go, on, tell us who will win the Ashes.
Not a chance. I’m saving that for my column!
2025-12-14T12:05:43Z