Author Archives: The Brentano Suite

Exploring the vibrant landscape of London’s franchise industry, we sat down with Neda Nayyeri, the Managing Director of Perfect Link. Neda unveils how Perfect Link is carving out a niche in the food franchising world with innovative strategies and unique concepts.

Could You Give Us An Overview Of Perfect Link And Your Journey So Far?

I joined Perfect Link about a year ago, a few months after it started, as Managing Director. Our focus has been on developing two unique brands that we plan to expand across London and Europe. We’ve also got the territory rights for a renowned Dubai-based brand, making us a key player in the London market. Our goal is to connect promising high turnover franchise opportunities with the right individuals.

What Kind Of Franchise Opportunities Is Perfect Link Known For?

Our spotlight is on the food industry, where we’re creating unique concepts. We’ve developed an exclusive ice cream brand that’s a first in London. It’s still early days, but the response has been incredible so far. We already have people expressing interest in owning one of our franchises. I’ve been involved in the food industry myself for about eight years, and my business partner brings in about 40 years of business experience, including owning food kiosks in Dubai. 

What Sets Perfect Link Apart In The Franchise Field?

We believe in making each franchise an immersive and entertaining experience. Our concepts go beyond being just food outlets; they’re unique attractions. The equipment we use, the way we present our products – everything is tailored to create a unique, entertaining experience for our customers. We’re constantly innovating and brainstorming new ideas and we regularly have people coming to our office, eager to discuss potential ventures and investment opportunities.

Has The Brentano Suite Played A Part In Your Recent Growth?

Absolutely! The impact has been immense. We moved into the Brentano Suite just a few months ago and it quickly felt like home to us. Finding a stable location to work in the past was a constant challenge, but since moving here we’ve experienced a dramatic shift. 

The flexibility at the Brentano Suite is something that a lot of serviced offices don’t give you. A week ago, we signed with management to take over another office room next door. Sandra at reception has been incredibly helpful in finding solutions if we ever need anything. The kind of support and adaptability is invaluable for us, especially when we are hosting important meetings with multiple guests. 

Does Your Team Live Locally To The Office?

Yes we do. Most of our team, including the directors, live close by, so being in Finchley is really convenient. At lunchtime, I might often pop home to check on my dog and come back. After moving around a lot in the past to different office spaces, we’ve finally found the perfect spot. 

What’s On The Horizon For Perfect Link?

We’re excited about expanding our team and showcasing our brands at major business expos in Guangzhou, China, and London’s Excel Center. Establishing our food store locations in London is our primary goal, and we’re also keen on attracting more investors to work on growing our innovative ideas. 

To find out more about Perfect Link, head to their website here.

At The Brentano Suite, we offer serviced office suites for companies across Northwest London and Hertfordshire, including meeting room hire, mail handling, and more. Have a look at our video tour to see inside our offices.

​​As a family business with a journey spanning over four decades, Gailarde’s story is one of growth and adaptation. Jonny Levy shares insights into the company’s journey, working with family and their exciting plans for the future.

Can You Start By Introducing Yourself And Your Company?

Sure, I’m the Managing Director of Gailarde. We are a family business that was founded 45 years ago by my father-in-law. The business has experienced significant growth over the years. I joined the business almost three years ago, shifting from a legal background to a leadership role.

Your Core Business is in Wholesale Textile Supply, Correct?

Our core business is the supply of textiles, homeware, soft furnishings and furniture to the hospitality, education and healthcare sectors. We’re proud to be an approved supplier to the NHS. In recent years, we’ve also expanded into the direct to consumer market with three e-commerce retail brands.

It Seems Like You Have A Substantial Team. How Many Employees Do You Have?

We currently employ about 70 people across the business; that’s a mix of office staff, salespeople and warehouse personnel. In November 2022 our Head Office team moved into The Brentano Suite, whilst our warehouse team moved into our state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution centre in Cambridgeshire.    

How Has It Been Working Within A Family Business? I’m Sure It Has Its Challenges!

My background was in law for over 20 years, so transitioning into a more commercial role within the family business was a change. I now work alongside my two brothers-in-law, Ben and Dan, who serve as joint CEOs, as well as my father-in-law, Richard. We all get along really well, and having different perspectives within the family is very beneficial. We often have multiple opinions on issues, which leads to productive discussions and better decision-making. Overall, it’s been a great experience.

What Is It That Sets Gailarde Apart From Others In Your Industry?

We are a true family business, and the close-knit atmosphere extends to our employees, some of whom have been with us for decades. Sustainability is another area where we excel; we recently achieved a gold rating from EcoVadis, placing us in the top 5% of businesses in Europe in terms of sustainability.

Amazing! What Made You Decide To Move To The Brentano Suite?

We were previously based in Borehamwood and found ourselves outgrowing the space. Rent was rocketing and we needed to do something different, so we made the difficult decision to split up our warehouse from the office.

We wanted an office that reflected a more professional approach as the business grew. After looking at three or four different options in the area, The Brentano Suite was almost a no-brainer.

What Has Been The Biggest Difference Between The Brentano Suite And Your Previous Office?

The most significant difference is the increased level of professionalism. Our previous office space was fine but required a lot of regular maintenance. Here, everything is smart, neat, and tidy, creating a pleasant work environment. Additionally, the opportunity to interact with fellow tenants and use shared spaces like the kitchens adds to the overall experience.

That’s Great! What’s Next For Gailarde Limited?

In addition to growing our wholesale business, we’re excited to grow in the e-commerce space. We now have three online brands:  UniKitOut.com which supplies bedroom, bathroom and kitchen starter packs to students; cozelinen.com, which sells luxury home textiles to consumers; and our latest addition, noahsbox.com selling crafting kits.

To find out more about Gailarde, head to their website here. 

Here at The Brentano Suite, we offer serviced office suites for companies across Northwest London and Hertfordshire, including meeting room hire, mail handling, and more. Have a look at our video tour to see inside our offices.

We recently sat down with Kiva, Business and Finance Manager at Educational Competencies Consortium (ECC) who are based out of The Brentano Suite in Whetstone. Kiva discussed the importance of working locally, and provide role analysis products, services and bespoke consultancy particularly around pay and grading. 

Can You Tell Us A Little Bit About ECC?

ECC offers HR expertise to more than 120 universities and colleges. We’re a small non-profit consortium with 8 employees founded in 1997, and are governed by a board of directors who mainly come from our membership organisations.  The consortium was formed specifically to develop and deliver effective job evaluation solutions within the education sector.  Our core product is a role evaluation methodology called ‘HERA’ and software called ECC Online.

Can You Tell Us What HERA Looks Like In More Detail?

Sure, HERA, stands for Higher Education Role Analysis. It’s a competency-based tool based around a questionnaire of 50 questions based on 14 comprehensive elements.  We train people how to use the methodology to score the job roles within their institutions. The idea is for our members to pay for work of equal value. It creates fair, transparent role evaluation to fit in with the members pay and grading structures. We’ve evolved it into a bespoke digital software to support our members.

What Do You Think Makes The Company Unique?

We’re totally unique in what we do as we’re tailored specifically for the Higher Education sector. Within the sector we work with various universities and colleges, such as the Russell Group universities, some very small colleges and a private school.

Is Your Full Team Based At The Brentano Suite?

I’m the only person here in the London office! Everybody else is home-based all over the country. For example, my boss is based in Dundee.

How Have You Found Working At The Brentano Suite?

The staff are just so helpful if you need anything at all. We’ve got the meeting room downstairs which is very useful. It’s great for me because I can talk to other tenants in offices around me. It’s a little community as such, even though our roles and businesses are totally different things!

“The Brentano Suite really works for me. I haven’t had any problems; the staff are very accommodating, and the people make it feel like a little community within itself.”

Is Having a Serviced Office Local To You Important?

Yes, I’m only a 10-minute walk away so it’s been brilliant! For me it’s great because I don’t have to get the tube and I can run home at lunchtime if I need to, so the whole setup is just perfect.

Also being in a serviced office means I don’t have to worry about telephones and utilities because that’s all part of the package.

Seems Like The Perfect Fit! What Have You Got Planned In The Near Future At ECC?

We’re constantly developing new services for our members. One of the big issues now within the sector is the cost-of-living crisis. We’re developing a tool to restructure pay scales at universities because the lower end of pay scales aren’t fit for purpose anymore.

I’m also scaling the team, looking to recruit a new support staff member to work alongside me at The Brentano Suite.

 To find out more about ECC, head to their website here.

Here at The Brentano Suite, we offer serviced office suites for companies across Northwest London and Hertfordshire, including meeting room hire, mail handling, and more. Have a look at our video tour to see inside our offices.

Elstree tenant Inndus isn’t the average printing company. With a remote team of eighty and a passion for solving their customers’ problems, they’ve designed everything from variable data journals to secure bookmarks. 

We caught up with Managing Director Sarita Menon to find out how Inndus works.

Hi Sarita! Can you tell us about how Inndus started?

Of course! Interestingly, before Inndus, I was cabin crew. When I finished, my friend and I sat down and identified a gap in the market for short runs of printed products.

This friend had been printing almost his whole life, so we put together his expertise in printing with my expertise in customer service to form Inndus together. This was in July 2013. 

We went from strength to strength, although that’s not to say it was easy by any means. But we worked from our strengths and took the time, strategized, and put in the hard work.

So, what does the company look like today?

Now, our team is made up of eighty people and we do everything from basic designing and print production to post-press foiling and embossing… and at the end we package the products before handing them over to our logistics partner for delivery

It sounds like you print a wide range of items!

Yes, we print almost everything! If somebody says to me “I can’t see this type of printing on your website”, then I’ll do my best to do it for them.

We regularly work on business stationery, marketing collateral, display items and personalized gifts.

Actually, one of the most interesting areas is variable data printing. Imagine you’re sending Christmas cards to your clients. Instead of painstakingly hand-writing each card, addressing them and putting them in the post, we create a branded Christmas card for you with your logo and details and each client’s name written in it, we also put them in an envelope for you with an address label on it, all you have to do is to put it in the post. Think of the incredible amount of time we have saved you.

How important is this personalization?

It makes such a difference. Now that people are beginning to recover from Covid, they want to reconnect with their customers. I’ve noticed a lot of companies asking for journals that feature their logo and their client’s name, adding that personalized touch. It’s fantastic!

Personalization sounds like a huge part of the business. Do you have any other examples?

Yes, it is! The other day, a customer wanted black invitation cards and asked us to print clear labels (instead of our usual white) so that it blended well into the black. We agreed, but when they were printed, the gum on the back of the label showed through. We, as a company, weren’t happy with it.

So, I chatted to the client and explained this. We then came up with the solution of printing the labels on black paper, which isn’t normally done. The Inndus team went out of our way to find the paper and sort the solution for our client.

That sounds great! Could you tell us a bit about running your business from The Brentano Suite?

Inndus has been here for just over 3 years. Before that, I was at a space that was very different. It made me appreciate The Brentano Suite so much more. Coming here was great – the quality, the décor, the atmosphere, lovely Jill sitting there with a smile and her positive attitude.

During COVID, I could see the effort that the team put in to maintain high standards and cleanliness. It really put me at ease and makes all the difference.

You mentioned having eighty employees, are they all in the office with you?

No, they’re not. The way our model works is that the printing is done abroad. We don’t outsource; it’s still our company but just based abroad. That helps me keep the price down and manage everything to bring the best for our customers, still using state of the art machinery. We’re premier partners with Xerox

This means I get parcels from around the world and the staff here (Brentano) manage it all so well. I get an email to let me know my mail has arrived. This might sound unimportant, but it’s not. The customer service and the little details make running a business so much easier.

So, how many of you are in the office?

At the moment, I’m the only one based here at The Brentano Suite. I’m like on a hotline connection for my Inndus team abroad. I speak to the customers and get the brief, which typically involves designing or printing. I then pass the brief on to my team who design it (if designing is necessary). I liaise with the customer who approves the draft, and then we proceed to print!

Tell us more about your USPs…

One of our big USPs is short runs. A lot of companies here aren’t interested in printing one hundred leaflets for a brand. Whereas we say to people, “don’t worry! We can work with you based on exactly what you need. We don’t like wastage either” We don’t compromise on quality, and we earn repeat customers.

We also ensure that the customer is the centre of everything.

Recently, we had a publishing house that wanted a bookmark. It sounds simple, but they wanted something unique. They wanted a bookmark that wouldn’t fall out of the book when it’s upside down. We folded it by two and put a magnet on either side – now it never falls out!

That sounds amazing. Do you have any other examples?

Absolutely! These are the sort of things we love doing. It’s not just a job, it’s our passion – we love innovating. For instance, foiling creates a lovely effect, but it’s not cost effective. So, during COVID, we invested in an iridescent machine which gives a similar beautiful finish but at a much more affordable price for our customers.

It’s what our customers wanted, and we found a way. It was a leap of faith for Inndus but it’s all working so well now!

Wow! So, what’s next for you?

We’re setting up a full B2C website for personalized items over the next few months – t-shirts, stationery, and so much more. That way, customers can get the products they want, in the quantity they choose, just by sitting at home. We haven’t had an e-commerce site before!

We’re also focusing on sustainability. We’re looking to partner with companies who use eco-friendly and recycled paper, who use products that are certified as sustainable and cruelty free. It’s so important!

I really care about what we have coming up, it’s all so exciting.

Here at The Brentano Suite, we offer serviced office suites for companies across North London, including meeting room hire, mail handling, and more. Have a look at our video tour to see inside our offices.