 He joined his father's lace business and in 1881 married baker's daughter Annie Maria, with whom he had four daughters and three sons.Possibly with the assistance of an inheritance from his mother, Hooley bought Risley Hall in Derbyshire for £5,000 in 1888, and in the following year set himself up as a stockbroker in Nottingham.Hooley moved his business to London in 1896 and began to affect "a lavish lifestyle".