Aberdeen-based social enterprise Glencraft has added fresh energy and impetus to its growth strategy with the appointment of two experienced businesspeople to its board.
Laura Bruce and Allan Clow join as Non-executive Directors to help deliver the future development plans of the organisation, which has provided employment opportunities for disadvantaged people for nearly 180 years.
Glencraft supports visually impaired and other disadvantaged people with dignity through work as it manufactures luxury mattresses and other soft furnishing products from its facility and showroom on Whitemyres Avenue in Mastrick.
Aberdeenshire-based Laura is an investment executive and employee director of UMi, an employee-owned business-to-business advisory organisation headquartered in Seaham, County Durham. She brings extensive financial and business development expertise to Glencraft.
Allan is Managing Director of Bancon Homes and Bancon Construction, both based in Banchory. He has more than 20 years’ experience in director roles and is also a qualified chartered management accountant.
Laura and Allan will join current Non-executive Directors Jonathan Smith, Chairman of Glencraft, and Leigh Stott, Head of HR at an energy services firm, increasing the board to four.
Jonathan said: “Laura and Allan are hugely welcome additions to the Glencraft board. They will strengthen our team with their expertise and their keen understanding of our core purpose – helping ensure that every hand-crafted product creates a positive social impact.”
Laura said: "I’m really excited to be taking on this role with Glencraft and helping it through its next phases of development. It is doing wonderful things for others; the company’s mission to provide dignity through work really resonates with me.”
Allan said: “It’s a genuine honour to join the Glencraft board – I look forward to doing what I can to support the continued success of an amazing charity and its amazing people. I believe it is very well positioned to go from strength-to-strength in the years to come.”
The charity supports 27 jobs and more than 80% of its staff are visually impaired or have some other form of disadvantage in relation to health or socio-economic challenges. One member of staff provides key manufacturing skills despite being blind. He has been with Glencraft for almost 40 years.
Glencraft, which was established in 1843, was granted a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and has supplied four generations of the Royal family. The social enterprise has also won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility), recognising its commitment to supporting people from under-represented groups.
Customers in the North-east of Scotland include The Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar, Buchan Braes Hotel near Peterhead, and Maryculter House Hotel and The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen. Others include The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Brown’s Hotel in London’s Mayfair district and the Caledonian Sleeper Service. Glencraft has also experienced increased demand for its industry-compliant mattresses for use on offshore installations.
The not-for-profit social enterprise’s deluxe handmade luxury mattresses, some of which have 3,000 pocket springs, have been showcased in Vogue magazine. They also incorporate UK-sourced natural materials such as horsehair, mohair, cashmere, wool and alpaca wool.
Glencraft manufactures upholstery in-house, including divans, ottomans, headboards, blanket boxes, cushions and other soft furnishings. The charity saw a rise in trade at its showroom, just off Lang Stracht, following the closure of the John Lewis store in Aberdeen.
Glencraft also has two international stores operating under brand licensing agreements. They are in South Korea and Hong Kong.
For more information, please visit: www.glencraft.luxury