Blog

What an incredible evening for Nightingale House Hospice, with a staggering £61,000 plus raised at this year's Strictly Nightingales event, including over £10,000 from my own fundraising efforts! For those unfamiliar, Strictly Nightingales is an bi-annual fundraising event that sees local people swap their day jobs for dancing shoes, taking to the dancefloor to raise vital funds for Nightingale House Hospice in Wrexham. Whilst not attending myself previously, I was persuaded

It's not every day that a business you've invested in lands a listing with one of the UK's biggest retailers. So, when we heard that CHANCE Clean Cider was heading into Marks & Spencer stores across the country, it was certainly a moment worth celebrating! I've always believed in backing good people with great ideas. People who are passionate about what they do, willing to challenge the norm and ambitious enough to turn an idea into something much bigger. And that's exactly w

I've been to plenty of trade shows over the years. Some are worth it. Some are a long day on your feet and a bag full of leaflets you'll never read. This year, SAVVY Collective took a stand at The Independent Hotel Show in London. Stephen Miles and I headed down with the team to meet independent owners, have some proper conversations and see what the industry was really talking about. I came away with more than I expected. Just not always from where I expected it. First thing

Last week I read the open letter from Barbakan Delicatessen & Bakery to Andy Burnham, and I genuinely don’t think I could have said it better myself. The letter spoke about the reality of running an independent business today. Rising costs, increasing pressure and the feeling that no matter how hard you work, there always seems to be another cost coming around the corner. It struck a chord because we are living it too. We are an independent hospitality business and we are pro

This week, 25 town criers from eight nations have descended on Chester for a tournament that hasn’t been held in the city since 2014. It is fun, unusual and completely in keeping with a city whose town crier tradition dates back to 1554. But the part we find really interesting is what has gone on behind it. Marketing Cheshire secured £50,000 of funding through Airbnb’s Best of British Fund to bring the tournament back to Chester. And that kind of investment matters. An event

We have officially gone down the brownie route. Bakerz Collective is our latest venture, and like a lot of things in business, it started because I spotted an opportunity and could immediately see where it could fit. We already have Foxxy Foods, our food truck, which is doing well and getting stronger all the time. I also have a perfectly good kitchen at The Chester Townhouse which, once breakfast is finished, is largely sitting there doing very little, and that has always bo