MOST know Luisa Zissman for her decadent lifestyle after appearing on The Apprentice.
Despite living in immense luxury, Luisa and husband Andrew Collins said they are determined to keep their kids humble. Here’s what we know about him.
Andrew Collins is said to be a serial entrepreneur, having been businesswoman Sarah Newman’s partner at Needahotel.
Collins made his debut on the Sunday Times Rich List in 2017, with an estimated net worth of £54million.
The Irish Times reports that Collins’s journey to becoming a millionaire was remarkably ordinary and he generally likes to keep a low profile.
Raised in North Dublin by a hairdresser mother and an entrepreneurial father, he pursued a commerce degree in Rathmines.
At the same time, he prepared for his chartered accountancy exams at night.
His career began as a cost accountant at Revlon hair products, much like his mother.
He later worked as an accountant for a pharmaceutical equipment supplier before transitioning to a role in software sales, targeting other accountants.
“That took me into the commercial world. My father was the biggest influence on me when it came to business.
“He also encouraged me to get some equity, to take a bit of risk.”
Luisa has kept her romance with the millionaire out of the limelight since they met.
However, during a 2020 episode of The Mummy Diaries, the former Celebrity Big Brother star revealed the pair first laid eyes on each other when the Irish millionaire bid on her at a charity auction.
My husband bid on me at an auction, and then I married him!
Luisa Zissman
Luisa jokingly said: “You know I put myself up for auction the night I met Andrew.
“My husband bid on me at an auction, and then I married him!”
The pair met at a Shooting Stars Chase event, a UK children’s hospice offering end-of-life care, funded entirely by donations.
Collins’ contribution notably raised £3000 for the cause.
Luisa has daughters Clementine and Indigo with Collins.
She has another daughter Dixie, with her first husband, Oliver Zissman.
Since 2016, he and Luisa have expanded their home with four extensions, with extra space in the front, side, study, and dining room.
In 2017, they also secured planning permission for a loft conversion.
The couple live in a mansion worth £7.5million, employing a whopping 15 staff, including four housekeepers, four gardeners, two horse groomers, and cleaners.
However, Luisa made it clear that her children would be getting “no money” once they turned 18 and if they wanted something they’d have to work for it.
Collins is reportedly the CEO of Hello.ie, an insurance company.
According to LinkedIn, he has been in the position for more than 12 years.
He is also a current director at Prepay Power.
The media-shy businessman has rarely spoken in public, bar an interview with the Irish Times in 2015.
The former Revlon salesman is now involved at electricity business Prepay Power (PPP), where sales broke through €90million in 2016.
After working in computer sales and training with Maurice Healy, Paschal Taggart, and John Nagle, Collins was managing a 140-person technology division for a listed company by age 29.
In the year 2000, he felt at a career crossroads.
Heeding his father’s advice to “take some risk,” Collins began searching for an investment opportunity.
“Someone told me about this English lady called Sarah Newman. She was building a business that sold hotel rooms to travel agents, and had agreed a contract with Ryanair.
“In January 2000, they were launching this thing called a website, and I was asked if I’d go and meet her.”
Collins met Newman in a Dublin hotel, advising her on her expanding business and suggesting she find a manager and investor.
When she inquired where to find them, Collins replied she was looking at them.
“I invited myself in, although Sarah got a proper deal done up through a corporate financier. That took a few months, and I joined the business in June.”
Newman knew the hotel industry, while he was familiar with call centres, technology and business management.
They “worked wonderfully” together before selling out to a multinational for a reported €60 million in 2006, though he states these figures were “wildly inflated” in the media.
By noon on the day his deal hit the newspapers, Collins was discussing a new venture with investor Derek Richardson, who previously rented office space to Needahotel.
Richardson now ran an online business, 123.ie, and sought Collins as managing director to expand it.
Collins had no experience of the insurance industry, “but once the website traffic came in, I knew how to convert them.
“I also knew the correlation between a website and a call centre. Derek filled me in on the insurance bit”.
In 2010, RSA acquired the business for over €80million, netting Collins his largest payday from his one-third share.
He and Richardson kept 123’s life business, now Hello.ie, and Collins also invested in Click.cz, a Czech online insurer, that year.
Speaking about moving away from 123, he said: “I really like that business. It has a really bright future. But my main business, now, in terms of my time, is PPP.
“I’m more excited by this than I have ever been about any other I’ve been involved in.”
