Warrington Wolves' Chris Hill opens Immerse Bathroom Showroom

The England international has teamed up with Olympian Iwan Thomas on Immerse Bathroom and Tile Showroom, which first opened its doors to customers on the afternoon of Saturday, September 7.

Fellow Wire prop Mike Cooper was present as Warrington Borough Council chief executive Steven Broomhead was given the honour of cutting the ribbon in order to open the premises on Crossley Street, near to Cockhedge roundabout.

Hill, 31, also brought the Challenge Cup trophy to the opening as an added bit of good luck.

He said: “It was a really good afternoon.

“I was actually very nervous in the morning.

“It’s something that I’ve never done before, and you don’t know if people are going to turn up.

“But we all enjoyed it, and we had a lot of people through the door.

“We had a few drinks in the evening to thank all the family and friends who have helped us.

“We’ve got a range of products on offer, from budgets bathrooms to high-end stuff.

“It’s exciting – we can compete with anyone and we’re probably one of the biggest bathroom showrooms in Warrington.”

Forward Hill and former European and Commonwealth Games champion Thomas have gone into business after being introduced through club sponsor Peter Kindness, who runs bathroom products importer Run400 Distribution with the 45-year-old former Team GB athlete.

Hill and Iwan Thomas

Immerse Bathroom and Tile Showroom is the latest addition to the Wolves star’s growing portfolio, complementing Premier Plumbing – the plumbing company he and business partner Christian Froggatt have run for a number of years.

Hilly added: “Iwan flies up every six or seven weeks and spends a couple of days here, he’s genuinely interested in the business and he’s a great bloke as well.

“We’re still getting the word out, but everyone will soon recognise us on the Cockhedge roundabout – it’s a good spot to be in.

“It’s going well and we’re going to keep pushing it.

“We’ve been looking to do this for about two years, but this unit came up about six months ago and we’ve been working on it since.

READ > Luxury spa and hotel to be built in town centre

“It has taken time, but it’s been worth it – we wanted to do it right before we opened.

“It’s something in place for the future, and something that helps me to switch off from rugby as well – hopefully I’m a good few years off retiring yet, but the business should be flying by the time I do.

“You never know, we might even end up opening a second showroom if it all goes well.”