  We construct two concrete examples of flavour non-universal gauge theories
which, after the inclusion of all $d\leq 4$ gauge invariant operators, allow to
describe the observed pattern of flavour in the charged fermion sector without
any small Yukawa coupling ($y \gtrsim 0.1$). Guided by the criterium of
minimality, we assume that flavour non universality is confined to the Abelian
sector of the gauge group: the universal hypercharge emerges after a sequence
of symmetry-breaking steps characterised by two high mass scales,
$\Lambda_{[23]} < \Lambda_{[12]}$, where the second and the first fermion
generations get their mass respectively. At least in one of the two models the
smaller of these scales can be in the 10 TeV range, consistently with current
bounds from flavour observables. Both models are extended to include as well
neutrino masses and mixings.
