Last Thursday evening the team at Manor Collection had a successful evening at The Surrey Business Awards. The Awards are organised and hosted by The Surrey Chambers and Platinum Publishing and this was the second year they have taken place. Epsom Downs racecourse hosted the evening and a lavish three course meal was served to the finalists and guests.

Manor Collection were up for two awards, the first being Chamber Member of the Year and the second being Business Person of the Year for the group’s Operations Director, Giles Thomas.

The atmosphere and entertainment on the evening was fantastic with a live singer and comedian Mark Dolan who also hosted the awards. As the awards got going the excitement in the room was electric as many Surrey based businesses were announced as winners and runners up.

The team at The Manor Collection were thrilled to be announced as ‘Highly Commended’ in the Member of the Year category and were absolutely ecstatic when Giles was announced as the 2019 winner of Business Person of the Year!

With three hotels to run and 150 employees to manage as well as a great deal of involvement in local charities and business groups Giles certainly has earnt the coveted accolade and was very proud to receive such a fantastic trophy.

Giles said It really was a surprise to win the award. Winning an award like this is really a credit to our fantastic team. I am very lucky to have such great people throughout our hotels who work incredibly hard 24 hours a day 365 days a year who support the success of our businesses. I am delighted to have been recognised for this award and feel very honoured to receive such an accolade.”

On Saturday 30th November, Church Street in Reigate played host to the annual Christmas Fayre which is organised by The Reigate Business Guild to raise funds for the towns Christmas lights.

With former Strictly Dancers James and Ola Jordan making a special appearance to turn on the lights with Reigate & Banstead Mayor Keith Foreman and Deputy Mayor Rosemary Absalom. Performances from the Reigate School of Ballet, Reigate Priory School choir, Reigate College, Reigate Grammar School Choir, The Charisma Girls, 4 Chicks and Dunnotar School Choir as well as a traditional Punch and Judy, the town was alive with an electric atmosphere. Thankfully the weather was onside and Church Street was packed with people enjoying the entertainment and the stalls which included local traders; Reigate Manor, Chalk Hills Bakery, Willows, Crumbs Brewing, All About Eve amongst many others. The crowd were spoilt for choice with mulled wine, hog roasts, fish and chips, and a selection of ports to taste courtesy of The Vineking. With donkey rides to Father Christmas in the tunnel sponsored by Gerrard’s, there was little chance of anyone not getting into the festive spirit!

Reigate Business Guild was set up in 1991 and has gone from strength to strength with 120 members now signed up. These local Reigate based businesses range from large corporate businesses to sole trader shops and restaurants, all individuals who care about Reigate and its surroundings. Amongst the Guild is a committee of volunteers who organise the Christmas Fayre with the team working hard on site from 5.30am that morning to make sure the day went smoothly.

Jes Chandler, Chair of the guild said “What a fantastic day and effort by everyone, the Tombola raised over £2,800 on the day and this is all thanks to the generosity of the local businesses in the town. There were thousands of happy faces on the streets, some fantastic entertainment on the stage and the most diverse offering from the stallholders ever. The best fayre to date, a really dedicated and hardworking team, most of whom started at 06.00 and finished at 19.30”.

Caroline Clarke who leads the Christmas Fayre committee said “This year’s fayre was fabulous thanks to the great team that work behind the scenes for months to make it a great community event. I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that supported the fayre this year to make it a day to remember.”

For further information and membership enquiries please take a look at www.reigatebusinessguild.co.uk

Last Thursday evening Reigate Manor played host to a curry and quiz night to raise funds for the Christmas lights put on by The Reigate Business Guild. The evening was extremely well attended with quiz goers joining in from many of Reigate’s local businesses including teams from Run Reigate, Lewis Charles, Willows, White & Sons and many more. The ballroom at Reigate Manor was packed with over 140 guests enjoying a curry in between 8 rounds of a fairly challenging quiz. The quiz was put together by the team at Reigate Manor however it was assumed a professional quiz company had been involved as it was such a good evening! Coincidentally the team put together by Jes Chandler, the Chairman of the guild came away with the winner’s trophy and a case of prosecco but we’ve been assured it wasn’t a fix!

Reigate Business Guild was set up in 1991. The Guild enjoys the support of one hundred and eighteen organisations from in and around Reigate town centre, ranging from large corporate businesses to sole trader shops and restaurants, all individuals who care about Reigate and its surroundings. The Guild are responsible for the hugely successful Reigate Christmas Fair held on Church Street each year and fundraising events such as these are vital to allow the guild to put the event on. This years fair is taking place on Saturday 30th November from 11.30am-5pm.

Jes Chandler, Chair of the guild said “What a fantastic evening, every single person I have spoken to has been gushing about what a lovely evening it was. It was a very professionally run event, with great food and a lovely atmosphere in the room, well done and thanks to all involved.”

Reigate Manor frequently hosts quiz nights and events for local charities and groups. It’s always worth checking www.reigatemanor.co.uk to see what’s coming up.

The Reigate Business Guild have raised £8000 to help fund the Christmas lights for the town. The annual golf day is attended by guild members who bring along their guests to thrash it out over the 18 holes at the beautiful Betchworth Park Golf Club. The day was supported by many of the towns local businesses by either attending or donating one of the many raffle prizes. For the second year running the winners of the much coveted trophy were the team from Reigate High Street estate agent, White and Sons.

Peter Mitchell from organisers Mitchell and Company said “The day was a great success and enjoyed by all. On course refreshments were supplied by the Pilgrim Brewery and the golf was followed by a fabulous dinner. The day raised in excess of £8000 with £2000 being donated to local charity, The Lucy Rayner Foundation. This is a charity raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of mental health issues in young adults. The family of Lucy Rayner who tragically took her own life in 2012 at the age of 22 were guests at the dinner and speakers for the evening.

A raffle and auction followed with prizes being supplied by mainly local businesses and individuals. The high point of the auction was getting £1000 for a signed Anthony Joshua boxing glove!

Jes Chandler, Chairman of The Reigate Business Guild said “Another fantastic event supported by over 100 golfers and 120 at the dinner: We will be taking a good look at White and Sons handicaps as they collected the new trophy that they donated following their win last year: Our thanks to Peter, Linda and Stacey from Mitchell & Co for organising such a fabulous event, Betchworth Park for their expert hosting and quality food, and of course to Stuart and Jenny Rayner who have put so much into creating a fantastic charity that is reaching out to so many people: The support of all of the participants, sponsors and the town’s businesses is a credit to the work the guild does to engender a real community spirit”

For further information on the Reigate Business Guild and membership enquiries please see www.reigatebusinessguild.co.uk

On Sunday, 8th September, Hadlow Manor in Kent opened up their beautiful grounds to 250 children and their parents under the care of The Royal Marsden for various teenage and childhood cancers. September is officially Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and the families invited have all been affected by cancer in different ways; some currently on treatment, some on watch for relapse as well as families of children that have sadly lost their lives to cancer.

Vicki and James Woodall whose son George was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma in January 2017 having gone through months of gruelling treatment were behind the Marsden family fun day as part of their Giant Pledge campaign (www.giantpledge.com). They know only too well how much these children need a day of fun and excitement as a break from the childhood cancer hardship and monotony.

The Giant Pledge duo enlisted the help of their charity partner Google UK as well as L’Oréal, Nintendo, Paramount Pictures, Disney and McVites, by way of goodie bags and additional treats to help make the day even more special.
The grounds at Hadlow Manor were ideal to host the event with go karts, dream car rides, a bouncy castle with giant games, live music and performers as well as a hog roast and indoor craft and gaming activities.

Giles Thomas, Operations Director of the Manor Collection of which Hadlow Manor is part of said; “We have worked with Vicki and James many times over the years to help with fundraising for The Giant Pledge and we really enjoy it. We’ve hosted numerous quiz nights at our sister hotel Reigate Manor as well as family fun days at our other Surrey based hotel Hartsfield Manor. When Vicki approached us to host this special fun day we didn’t hesitate to get involved with such a worthy event. Our staff worked so hard in the lead up and on the day and all really enjoyed it. We loved being part of something so special. Seeing the children having such a great time makes it all worthwhile”.

Vicki Woodall commented “Over the past two years we’ve met so many amazing companies looking to support our Giant Pledge fundraising. This September Childhood Cancer Awareness month we took the opportunity to bring some of these to the families of the Marsden as we know all too well how much they all need spoiling”.

With the weather onside, the bbq fired up and the entertainment in full swing it really made for a fantastic day. Allowing the families a chance to put aside day to day life of cancer treatment their and just enjoy themselves in a relaxed and informal environment away from the hospital.

For further information on The Manor Collection and if we can get involved with your next event please visit https://manorcollection.co.uk/

The local business group, Reigate Business Guild are putting the wheels in motion to plan the annual Reigate Christmas Fayre which this year takes place on Church Street on Saturday the 30th November. The Guild had no trouble securing the five sponsors needed to help the event take place. This year the key Headline Sponsor being Keymex, for a second year running. Gerrards Fashion is behind the donkey rides in the tunnel. While 3D Financial Planning are sponsoring the Christmas Tree in West Street and BG Consulting are sponsoring the Christmas Tree in Bell Street.

The local businesses of the Guild are always very generous in supporting what is a very big day for the town. The Guild hold fundraising events during the year to help raise enough funds for the Christmas lights which are a new upgraded version and will look fantastic displayed across the town.

Reigate & Banstead council have also been very generous in donating towards the lights, helping the Guild make sure the town welcomes the start of Christmas in in style! The event is organised and manned on the day by volunteers from the Guild each year with a start in the early morning and working throughout the whole day. The event is great for the town and really does create a magical Christmas atmosphere incorporating local businesses with stalls as well as entertainment from local dance and music schools as well as street food and Children’s entertainment.

Jes Chandler, Chair of the guild said “We fundraise year on year for the past six years to install maintain and remove the new lighting scheme: This year we are hoping to extend the scheme and have plans in place for additional lighting in Bancroft Road, Bell Street and West Street. The new scheme is unique to Reigate and is the result of some serious hard work by the guild members. The Fayre attracts thousands to the town, and with the enhanced lighting scheme set to be switched on during the closing hours of the Fayre on the 30th November, we are all looking forward to a sparkling day to set the 2019 Christmas Festivities in motion”

The Reigate Business Guild was set up in 1991. The Guild enjoys the support of one hundred organisations from in and around Reigate town centre, ranging from large corporate businesses to sole trader shops and restaurants, all individuals who care about Reigate and its surroundings. The Guild are responsible for the hugely successful Reigate Christmas Fair held on Church Street each year. For further information and to join the guild please look at http://www.reigatebusinessguild.co.uk/

On Sunday 7th July Hadlow Manor will be hosting a charity family fun day. The Hadlow based hotel have chosen to support local Tonbridge based charity, Tree of hope who are a crowdfunding charity that helps children and young people with a disability or illness by supporting their families to raise the money they need to pay for specialist care that is not freely available through the UK healthcare system.

With plenty organised to keep the family entertained including; a bouncy castle, an ice cream van, a Punch and Judy show, vintage photo shoots, a treasure hunt and sports day races, Hadlow Manor expects to be busy with tickets selling at just £2 per adult and free of charge for children.

Giles Thomas, Operations Director for the Manor Collection hotel group of which Hadlow Manor belongs to said “As a group we are always keen to support local charities, we have previously held many successful quiz nights for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and at our Surrey based hotels we have raised a considerable amount for the Royal Marsden. We love offering something different to the locals, our fireworks nights are always very well attended and it seems a shame to not use our glorious grounds during the summer months as well.”

The family fun day is taking place between 12-4pm and tickets can be purchased in advance or on the door.

For upcoming events at Hadlow Manor please check www.hadlowmanor.co.uk

On Thursday 7th June Reigate Manor proudly hosted the first Reigate and Banstead Business Awards. An awards evening organised by Reigate & Banstead council to celebrate the amazing talent there is in the borough. There were eight different categories including; Large Business of the year, Social & Value Business of the year and Start Up of the year. The entries were of an extremely high calibre with over fifty entries received leaving a difficult decision for each of the eight judges. The judges included local businesses Kingston Smith, East Surrey College, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Morrisons Solicitors, The Belfry, Gatwick Airport and the Surrey Chambers of Commerce.

The evening was a great success with over 150 guests enjoying a champagne reception in The Garden Room followed by a fantastic three course meal in The Ballroom. There was live music from X Factor finalist Shan Ako who wowed the audience with her amazing soul voice. Nicholas Owen, local Reigate based broadcaster compared for the evening sharing anecdotes of his Reigate life. The atmosphere in the Ballroom was wonderful when the finalists were announced, with plenty of applaud and cheers. Once the winners were announced, the celebrations continued downstairs late into the evening in the hotels very own night club, The Cellar Rooms where award winners celebrated and danced the night away! Winners on the night were; Pilgrims Brewery, Crumbs Brewing, The Belfry, Shuttle, Earlswood Homes, Kingston Smith and Connick Tree care with Zac Tullett from Shippo winning Employee of the year.

Giles Thomas; Operations Director of The Manor Collection, the hotel group Reigate Manor belongs to said; “We have very strong links with the Reigate and Banstead business community and regularly host networking and business events. We realised that although we attend many local business awards evenings including the Gatwick Diamond and the FSB, our venue, Reigate Manor would make the ideal place to host an awards evening for businesses within our community. We approached the council and they loved the idea and the rest is history!”. With different areas of the hotel to allow the flexibility for different parts of the evening it really did work. To be able to start with the drinks reception in one part of the hotel, host the dinner and awards in another area then allow the guests to carry on the party downstairs in The Cellar Rooms it really did make full use of the hotel and gave the evening a very smooth and organised feel.

For upcoming events and further information on Reigate Manor please check www.reigatemanor.co.uk

Last Sunday, Tonbridge Rotary Club arranged a very special outing for local pensioners. A group of volunteers from the Rotary collected the groups and took them on a picturesque country drive around the Kent countryside finishing off with an afternoon tea laid on by local independent hotel, Hadlow Manor.

This is an annual event usually taking place at a different venue each year but last year Hadlow Manor heard about it and offered to host the afternoon tea. As it was such a success the Rotary were more than happy to take them up on their offer of hosting it for a second year running. This time as well as a sumptuous tea of sandwiches, homemade cakes, scones and a birthday celebration the group were treated to some live music by Mike Golding and his band which was very well received.

Giles Thomas, Operations Director of The Manor Collection hotel group which Hadlow Manor belongs to said “We were delighted to get involved with such a worthy cause and treat the local pensioners to a delicious afternoon tea. It’s a great thing the Rotary does by getting those who may not see anyone for days on end out of the house for a change of scene and for a chance to mingle with other local residents all whilst enjoying a cuppa and a scone!”.

Sonia Williams, President of Tonbridge Rotary Club, said: “The Rotary Club of Tonbridge enjoyed its annual Country Drive and cream tea for the elderly. We are grateful to the Rotarians and especial thanks to Hadlow Manor Hotel for the wonderful afternoon tea they so generously provided.”

The Garden Room at Hadlow Manor was a hive of activity with around 50 locals enjoying the drive and with the rain holding off it really was a perfect afternoon.

For upcoming events at Hadlow Manor please check www.hadlowmanor.co.uk

Last Thursday evening Reigate Manor played host to a curry and quiz night to raise funds for the Christmas lights put on by The Reigate Business Guild. The evening was extremely well attended with quiz goers joining in from many of Reigate’s local businesses including teams from Run Reigate, Lewis Charles, Willows, White & Sons and many more. The ballroom at Reigate Manor was packed with over 100 guests enjoying a curry in between 8 rounds of a fairly challenging quiz. The quiz was put together by the team at Reigate Manor however it assumed a professional quiz company had been involved as it was such a good evening! Lewis Charles came away with the winners trophy and a case of prosecco with White & son’s following on in second place by just one point!

Reigate Business Guild was set up in 1991. The Guild enjoys the support of one hundred organisations from in and around Reigate town centre, ranging from large corporate businesses to sole trader shops and restaurants, all individuals who care about Reigate and its surroundings. The Guild are responsible for the hugely successful Reigate Christmas Fair held on Church Street each year and fundraising events such as these are vital to allow the guild to put the event on.

Jes Chandler, Chair of the guild said “What a fantastic evening, every single person I have spoken to has been gushing about what a lovely evening it was. It was a very professionally run event, with great food and a lovely atmosphere in the room, well done and thanks to all involved.”

Reigate Manor frequently host events for local charities, the next event to raise money for George and the Giant Pledge is a ‘Back to the 90’s club night’ taking place on May 24h and tickets usually sell out so advanced booking is recommended by checking www.reigatemanor.co.uk or calling the events team on 01737 240125.