Member Article

Top trio have Newcastle and Gateshead covered

An award-winning North East business has a group of new franchisees at the helm of one its most prestigious locations.

Simply Bows and Chair Covers- the current holder of the British Chamber of Commerce Most Promising New Business accolade- has its HQ on the County Durham and Northumberland border and operates all over the UK. The much-sought after Newcastle and Gateshead franchise recently became available again, following three successful years of being managed by a local lady.

Less than two days after becoming available, the franchise received a number of enquiries and a group of well-known businesswomen from the Newcastle area were chosen to operate the franchise.

Leanne Clark, Nicola Nelson and Heather Taylor have a combined experience of almost 40 years in the wedding and hotel sectors having worked for prestigious companies and top hotels across the North East.

The ladies will be working at a range of venues across the Newcastle and Gateshead region such as Dissington Hall, The Sage, The Baltic, Marriot Gosforth Park and Horton Grange to name a few.

Sarah Pittendrigh established Simply Bows and Chair Covers in 2008 and now has 12 franchises all over the UK, specialising in quality chair covers and table linen for weddings, balls and corporate events at high profile venues.

The company recently announced the expansion of its services and now provides hotels and restaurants with daily table linen and napkin hire to use in their dining rooms, as well as for special events, and it is proving successful around the UK as more restaurants and hotels look to outsource specific services, such as those related to table linen, to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Speaking about the changes at her Newcastle franchise, Sarah said: “Newcastle is a very prestigious franchise area for Simply Bows and Chair Covers as it was one of the first to be established and boasts some beautiful venues for both weddings and conferences. Demand has constantly increased for this franchise and we are excited for the new team to take over as it moves into a new era. The ladies who have come on board are exceptional and have a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry and I am sure they will be a huge success.”

Area director for Newcastle, Leanne Clark, added: “We’d all heard of Simply Bows and Chair Covers and also worked with and referred the company in the past. It comes with such a strong reputation that it was an opportunity for us not to miss. As a group, the three of us believe we can bring such a lot to the business and were thrilled when we heard we’d managed to snap it up.”

So far this year, Sarah has added two new franchises in Essex and North Northumberland- with more in the pipeline- and has appeared in the Sunday Times advising other entrepreneurs about business start-up. In addition, Sarah has also been recruited by a national speakers’ agency to carry our speaking engagements at events around the UK.

Simply Bows and Chair Covers has seen demand for its services increase dramatically in the last year and now has franchises in locations such as Aberdeen, Cumbria, Lancashire, Berkshire and around the North East and Yorkshire working with luxury hotels, restaurants and other venues.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison .