Entrepreneurs announce expansion following spell in the Dragons’ Den
FASHION entrepreneurs Judy and Freya Bass, who appeared on the new series of Dragons’ Den which debuted last night and have announced growth plans without the help of the formidable four.
Their handbag restoration business, The Handbag Spa, was looking for £60,000 to roll out their idea internationally. The Dragons commented that a franchise is difficult to maintain long-term and rejected the investment unless the par would give up their franchise model.
The duo in turn rejected this, and since their TV pitch, the Harrogate-based business has moved to bigger premises at Follifoot Ridge Business Park to cater for increasing demand.
The 1,900sq ft site, will allow The Handbag Spa to expand its team and provide extra space to increase capacity to cope with an increasing number of designer handbag and purse restorations.
The Handbag Spa was set up in 2012 by 22-year-old Freya Bass, straight after she left university. It restores designer brands such as Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Mulberry.
The company has had clients from the Royal family and celebrities including Coleen Rooney.
Managing director, Freya Bass, said: “Pitching in front of the Dragon’s was an unforgettable experience, and we learned a lot from the feedback that they gave us. It wasn’t really about getting investment for us – although that would have obviously been a bonus – it was more about getting feedback for our business idea from incredibly successful businesspeople.
“Off the back of the feedback we received from the Dragons, we’ve decided not to pursue the franchises, we’re working on another business expansion concept instead. At the moment we’re not in a position to give anything away about it but needless to say, it was inspired by the feedback we got from the Dragons.”
National property consultant Carter Jonas acted on behalf of the landlord with Henry Erdozain commenting: “We are delighted to be able to attract an ambitious local business with impressive expansion plans to the business park.”
