The full biography

From mathematics to enterprise.

A photo-led account of a Wiltshire childhood, Cardiff University, financial services, the creation of a back-bedroom payroll business, national growth, reinvention through legislation and COVID-19, charitable contribution and the present TWH Holdings chapter.

Born 1971Cardiff UniversityFounder since 2005Research reviewed 2026Current portrait 2026

Open 2016 source PDF

WiltshireRoots and community

BSc (Hons)Mathematics & computing

2007RACS Group founded

2017+TWH Holdings era

Contemporary illustrated portrait of Terence Wesley Hillier based on his 2026 photograph — Current illustrated profile, derived from the supplied 2026 photograph. Historic personal contact details and sensitive family information are not reproduced.

Overview

A business life shaped by logic, loyalty and momentum.

Terence Wesley Hillier — widely known as Terry — was born in Trowbridge in October 1971 and grew up in North Bradley, Swindon and Warminster. His father, Clifford, served with Wiltshire Police after working as a draftsman for the R.E.M.E.; his mother, Joan, trained as a bookkeeper. The family background combined public service, practical skill and financial discipline. S1

At New Close Primary School and later Kingdown School, Hillier showed particular strength in mathematics and physics. The 2016 biography also records a broad sporting childhood: cricket, football, swimming, basketball and karate. More important to the later business story was the habit of work. Holiday jobs at Junction 18 and Lyons Seafoods offered an early understanding of earning, responsibility and the confidence that comes from financial independence.

He completed A levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry before studying Mathematics and Computing at Cardiff University from 1990 to 1993. The degree did not lead to a conventional technical career. Instead, it became the analytical foundation for roles in quality assurance, financial services, sales, recruitment and payroll — disciplines that would eventually converge in his own companies. S1

“Obstacles and barriers are challenges and opportunities.” — a recurring theme in the 2016 profile

Early career: learning how businesses sell, measure and manage risk

After university, Hillier worked in quality assurance at Lyons Seafoods. The role was useful but, by his own later account, insufficiently commercial. In 1994 he moved into financial advice with Allied Dunbar, operating on a self-employed, commission-only basis. Cold calling was uncomfortable; presenting, building trust and closing business were not. He progressed to NatWest, first in retail-facing advice and then in corporate financial services.

Further roles at Liaison, Freelance Professional Services, Resources Partners and Key Portfolio broadened his exposure to VAT consultancy, recruitment, contractor finance and outsourced payroll. At Key Portfolio, he focused heavily on education recruitment as legislation accelerated demand for more formal payroll arrangements. The experience proved that he could build a market. It also taught him that verbal promises, however confidently made, are no substitute for a written agreement. S1

The visual biography

Seven photographs. Seven defining stages.

The captions are grounded in the supplied 28-page Business Person of the Year book, with the final stage updated by the recent 2026 portrait. S1

1970s–1980s · Early years

Foundations of character

Born in Trowbridge and raised across North Bradley, Swindon and Warminster, Hillier’s childhood mixed local community, cricket, football, swimming, basketball and karate with a strong aptitude for numbers. The book connects these years to the loyalty, energy and humour that later characterised his leadership. S1

1982–1990 · Kingdown School

Confidence, curiosity and work ethic

He took O Level mathematics early, completed eight GCSEs and progressed to A levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Holiday work at Junction 18 and Lyons Seafoods added an early understanding of responsibility and financial independence. S1

Terence Hillier at Cardiff University graduation

1990–1993 · Cardiff University

Mathematics opens doors

A BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Computing gave Hillier an analytical framework that later proved valuable in finance, tax, payroll technology and commercial decision-making.

Terence Hillier working in the early company years

1993–2007 · Career and start-up

Learning to sell, manage risk and build

After quality assurance, Allied Dunbar, NatWest and commercial roles in recruitment and contractor services, he established Education Payroll Services in 2005. A difficult early legal dispute produced a lasting rule: important commitments belong in writing. RACS Group followed in 2007. S1

Terence Hillier and Dr Andrew Murrison MP at the opening of RACS Group House

8 March 2013 · RACS Group House

From modest premises to a headquarters with intent

The company moved from a back bedroom and a converted barn into increasingly substantial premises. RACS Group House, created from a former snooker hall in Warminster, represented both operational scale and confidence. The supplied photograph records the official opening with Dr Andrew Murrison MP. The book later records more than 100 staff, turnover above £150 million and national growth recognition. S1

Terence Hillier presenting a charity cheque

2010s · Charity & community

Commercial success with a local purpose

The book records support for Louie’s S.M.I.L.E.S., Children’s Hospice South West, Dorothy House, the Forever Friends Appeal, Warminster Foodbank, Helping Rhinos, schools and youth sport. It also records more than £30,000 raised through the company Christmas raffle by 2016. S1

Current 2026 portrait of Terence Hillier

2020s–present · Founder and adviser

Helping organisations come through stronger

People Group’s public profile continues to identify Hillier as Founder and CEO. His current TWH Holdings proposition combines operating experience with management consultancy, investment and mentoring — particularly where businesses face growth strain, regulatory change, cash pressure, succession or recovery. S13

The founder years

Starting with little more than experience, contacts and conviction.

The early photographs show the distance travelled: a spare room, modest premises, a converted barn and, eventually, a purpose-built operating platform.

Terence Hillier working in an early office

Early residential location associated with the start-up years

The early barn office used by the business

Education Payroll Services: the first independent venture

In 2005, disillusioned by the gap between effort and promised ownership, Hillier co-founded Education Payroll Services. The company began in the back bedroom of a business partner’s home in Bath. The proposition was targeted: provide recruitment agencies placing supply teachers with an outsourced payroll solution that could deal with increasingly complex rules.

A legal challenge from a former employer temporarily prevented the new venture from trading. The 2016 biography records that EPS ultimately succeeded and received compensation, but the period was personally and commercially punishing. Hillier’s summary of the lesson was characteristically direct: “Get it in writing.” S1

RACS Group: building a category position

By 2007 the business had developed sufficiently to support a new company, Recruitment & Contractor Services — RACS Group. Early growth was not produced by capital abundance. It came from relentless selling, national travel, direct client contact, family and friends helping with premises, and an increasingly clear point of difference: compliance, transparency and ethical practice in a market that had not always rewarded those qualities.

The company recruited specialist staff, invested in bespoke payroll software and moved from a remote barn to larger premises in Warminster. Telesales capacity widened the client base beyond education into medical, construction and other sectors. Marketing became unusually visible for a payroll provider, using a distinctive family of characters and a confident visual identity. The operating model became more sophisticated, but the founder remained closely involved in the detail. S1

Scale and recognition

Growth created visibility. Visibility increased the standard expected.

By the middle of the 2010s, the story had moved from regional start-up to a nationally recognised payroll group.

The supplied 2016 biography records more than 100 employees, over 10,000 contractors paid each week and group turnover above £150 million. RACS was recognised in South West growth rankings, reached number 38 in the 2014 Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100, appeared in the London Stock Exchange Group’s 2015 “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain”, and received both business and personal recognition at the Wiltshire Business Awards. S1 S5 S6

Those achievements were not merely ceremonial. They increased scrutiny from clients, regulators, competitors and employees. Hillier’s response was continued investment: headquarters, specialist management, legal capability, more sophisticated systems and a broader service proposition.

The reinvention years

A company cannot preserve itself by preserving every old product.

The most important chapters came when regulation and crisis made continuity impossible without change.

2016

Legislation threatens the core market

Restrictions on tax relief for home-to-work travel and subsistence undermined a central contractor proposition. Hillier backed a new compliant model, substantial technology and professional advice rather than waiting for the market to decide the company’s fate. S1

2017

A wider vision for the recruitment supply chain

People Group’s published history describes a strategic shift toward an end-to-end solution: onboarding, compliance, workforce management, payroll and benefits, supported by better technology. S4

2018

People Group Services is created

The new structure brought People Engage, People Compliance and People Pay beneath a single group proposition. S4

2019

RACS becomes People Group

The rebrand consolidated the new service pillars and marked a deliberate move into a broader, technology-enabled era. S4

2020

COVID-19, furlough and operational urgency

The company says it processed more than £12 million in furlough payments, began support one week after the scheme announcement, passed audit and advanced weekly funding before reimbursement. The period also put Hillier into public industry commentary, including discussion of the contractor payment crisis. S4 S16

2020+

Recognition for compliance technology

People Group won the 2020 TIARA Compliance Solution of the Year and later reached the Contractor Solution of the Year finalist lists in 2022 and 2023. The public record continues into 2026, with a Global 100 publisher award for its umbrella and joint-employment proposition and a place on The Global Recruiter’s Best Innovation finalist list. S7 S8 S9 S17 S18

TWH Holdings and the current chapter

Operating, advising and backing new ideas.

TWH Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2017. Public filings show Hillier as an active director and person with significant control. S2 S3

The current portfolio reflects a broader entrepreneurial range. People Group Services — whose current team page identifies Hillier as Founder and CEO — remains the most visible operating legacy of the original payroll business. Healing Process applies product, workflow and communication thinking to a healthcare setting. People Villa combines property, hospitality and a digital guest journey. S13 S14 S15

The TWH Holdings-supplied profile also describes Hillier as a management consultant who supports businesses through growth, reversal, restructuring, COVID-era disruption, furlough, recovery, succession and exit. Details of private client engagements and transactions are not published here; the advisory page focuses on the transferable methods rather than confidential counterparties.

Companies House currently records a continuing set of active directorships across TWH Holdings and several People Group entities. The public record is dynamic and should be checked directly for the latest position. S2

A personal leadership style

High energy, direct communication and visible ownership.

Descriptions written years apart repeatedly return to the same traits.

Present in the detail

People Group’s current team profile describes a founder who moves between day-to-day contractor enquiries and conversations with senior industry leaders. S13

Clear about the destination

The repeated vision is to be the most compliant and client-focused business in the sector — simple language that gives teams a practical standard for decisions.

Prepared to challenge

The 2016 profile portrays a leader willing to end circular debate, bring attention back to the commercial issue and insist on an actionable solution.

Loyal and generous

Long-serving colleagues, community sponsorship and charitable activity are prominent throughout the archival material.

Family-centred

Hillier has consistently presented family as a central source of perspective and motivation. The public version of this biography keeps that chapter respectful and deliberately non-intrusive.

Restless curiosity

Technology, property, healthcare, marketing, hospitality and collections all reflect an appetite for ideas, design and experiences beyond a single sector.

Beyond the boardroom

The individual is as distinctive as the business record.

The source book and current People Group profile show a personality shaped by family, friendship, collecting, humour and a belief that work should retain energy and character.

Collector and enthusiast

The 2016 book records a collection of celebrity vehicles — including the General Lee, a Del Boy van and the Mystery Machine — together with more than 150 Raleigh Chopper and Grifter bicycles. The current People Group profile adds a room devoted to Star Wars memorabilia. S1 S13

Family and long friendships

Family is repeatedly presented as the central source of perspective and motivation. The book also notes that friendships from childhood continued into adult life and the business community. This public version keeps the family chapter respectful and non-intrusive. S1

Travel and perspective

The archive describes travel, hosting and time in Spain as ways to recharge and regain perspective away from a demanding operating environment. The emphasis is not luxury for its own sake, but the ability to step back, think and return with renewed energy. S1

Humour and a vibrant workplace

The source material repeatedly describes a boyish sense of humour and a determination that the world of work should be vibrant and enjoyable. That philosophy sat alongside — rather than instead of — high standards, accountability and compliance. S1

Terence Hillier at a community ribbon-cutting event

Community and contribution

Commercial success was accompanied by local visibility.

The 2016 biography records support for youth football and rugby, Kingdown School projects, the Academy of Trinity, hospital and hospice charities, a foodbank, wildlife causes and a company Christmas raffle that had raised more than £30,000 by that point. RACS received the 2014 Wiltshire Business Awards “Services to the Community” award. S1

Historical charitable claims are presented as they were recorded in the supplied source. This site does not imply that every programme remains active today.

Chronology

The journey at a glance.

Dates before 2017 are principally drawn from the 2016 award biography; later milestones are cross-checked against published company and public records.

1971

Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire

Raised across North Bradley, Swindon and Warminster in a family shaped by policing, bookkeeping, sport and local community.

1982–90

Kingdown School

Strong academic performance in mathematics and sciences, alongside sport and early holiday work.

1990–93

Cardiff University

BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Computing.

1993–97

Quality assurance and financial services

Lyons Seafoods, Allied Dunbar and NatWest.

1998–2004

Recruitment, finance and payroll sales

Commercial roles across FPS, Resources Partners and Key Portfolio.

2005

Education Payroll Services

The first independent payroll venture begins.

2007

RACS Group

A new company and brand built around compliant outsourced payroll.

2013–15

Regional and national recognition

South West growth rankings, Wiltshire awards, Fast Track 100 and 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

2016

Regulatory reinvention

New operating solutions developed as legislation altered the economics of the contractor market.

2017–19

People Group transformation

A broader end-to-end proposition, new companies, technology platforms and brand consolidation.

2020

Pandemic response

Furlough interpretation, funding, payroll delivery and public industry advocacy.

2020–25

Industry recognition continues

Compliance award, contractor-solution finalist positions and published payroll-service awards.

Today

Founder, operator, investor and adviser

Continuing work through TWH Holdings, People Group and a portfolio of practical ventures.

Next chapter

The biography explains the experience. The advisory page shows how that experience is applied.

Leadership & advisory