Mark Gardiner, 47, and his business partner Paul Maddison shared £22.5m between them when their numbers came up on the National Lottery. Maddison retired to Scotland but Gardiner still runs the glazing company, Croft Glass, which he started when he was 22.

Married four times, Gardiner is now engaged again to his first wife, Bridget, by whom he has a three-year-old son. From his previous marriages he has two daughters aged 17 and 14.

Did you think you would get to where you are?

Dreaming about it and the reality are totally different things. At first, it was a fantastic rollercoaster ride. As the years went on, I noticed people’s attitudes towards me changed, including friends and family, as well as customers and suppliers.

Did winning more than £11m change the way you felt about your business?

No. I had started Croft Glass on my own and I wanted to see it grow. We were only halfway through the journey. Had I walked away, I would have felt I had left something half done and that did not feel right. On a personal level, the lottery took away from me the chance to see if I could have made my own million.

How did you pick the winning numbers?

We cut up 49 pieces of paper with numbers one to 49 on them, put them in an old cloth bank bag and picked out six numbers. We stuck with the same numbers each week for six months.

Have you had time for personal financial planning?

I stuck with my existing accountant after the win. He is a very good friend. My bank introduced me to an investment company but it could give me no guarantees so I created my own portfolio.

What is your basic business philosophy?

Besides a good product, you have to give a service that is better or different than your competitors. Apart from the home improvements, my company provides a 24-hour glazing service, covering everything from a small broken window to a large shopfront.

Do you want to carry on till you drop?

No. I have made a little pact with myself that I’m going to work until I’m 50 and see how I feel then. I was 32 when I won and felt I was too young to doss around the world. If I do decide to retire at 50, I would only do so when I had found the right buyer for Croft Glass.

Have you made any pension provision?

I have built up my pension with money and property. At the moment, my main property is worth more than my pension. I own my home, and my business premises. I’ve also got some land where we have put in for planning permission for 12 houses.

When you won the lottery did you splash out?

I bought a motorboat for £750,000 in the first year, and moored it in Eastbourne. It was probably the most reckless purchase, but you cannot win all this money and not have some fun. I have had seven Aston Martins, including the DB7, which was about £100,000, and the Vantage, which was £150,000.

We also hired a Learjet to Barbados, which was just over £100,000. We put the crew up in a hotel and they were at our disposal.

I bought my local football club, Hastings United, which was on the verge of going bankrupt. It cost me £1 but I took on the debts, of £500,000. I tried to encourage a community atmosphere, but somehow it didn’t work. After three or four years, I had to call in the receivers. Ironically, another lottery winner came along and did exactly what I did, buying the club for £1 plus its debts.

Have you taken steps to pass on your wealth?

I made my first will after the win. You really have to clarify what you want to have done and, more importantly, what you don’t want to happen. I have to make sure that any legal guardian for my son is interested in him, not my bank account.

Do you have a commitment to charity?

I support the lifeboat at Hastings and I bought an incubator for the baby care unit at the Buchanan Hospital after my daughter was born prematurely. In Barbados, I also helped an orphanage that relied solely on donations.

What is your most prudent investment?

Definitely buying my business premises and my house. I spent £2m rebuilding my home, which was totally run down. It is a six-bedroom house outside Hastings. It has an indoor gym and a swimming pool with a National Lottery logo at the bottom to remind me where the money comes from.

What is the most you have ever paid for a bottle of fine wine or champagne?

It was £500 for a bottle of Dom Perignon at The Cliff, a restaurant in Barbados, on my 40th birthday.

Has the recession had any impact on your business?

Before the recession, I neglected the pennies and just concentrated on the pounds. Now I continually check our outgoings, and at work stock control is tighter. Customers have become rigorous negotiators, but I do have to cover my costs.