Leading businesswoman labels Hammersmith among 'best places in the UK for a small business to grow'

A leading businesswoman says Hammersmith is “amongst the best places in the UK for a small business to grow”.

Fastsigns CEO Catherine Monson paid the high praise to the area after flying in from America to visit a branch in the town .

During her visit she spoke to husband and wife franchisees Simon and Friederike Slee, who opened the new centre in Stirling Road, before heaping lavish praise on Hammersmith .

She said: “I love hearing about success stories and Hammersmith’s is certainly one of them. Over the past decade, Simon and Friederike have grown their business into a highly profitable enterprise.

“Since it originally opened, the team has increased by 30% and the new centre means more jobs are in the pipeline, which is great news for local employment in the area.

“Obviously, this is down to great leadership from Simon and Friederike, but location plays a big part too.

“There’s a thriving local business community in Hammersmith and it was evident that there’s an energetic and passionate network of small firms that help each other to flourish, which is great to see.”

As part of the move in March this year, from Hammersmith Road to its new location, Mr and Mrs Slee invested £250,000 into the business.

It now employs 10 people.

Mr Slee said: “The move has enabled us to expand our service offering. Because we have more space, we can now provide an all-encompassing service for everything from marketing material to large format signage for our customers.

“It was great to be able to share our success with Catherine. Our centre is independently owned but we’ve massively benefited from being part of the Fastsigns network.

“We were able to thank her in person for the support, tools and resources we receive for being part of that.”

Hammersmith is also a hit with bigger businesses, and is the home to international giants such as Disney and L’Oréal in the UK.

Fastsigns is a signage, graphics and visual communications partner.

Ms Monson is also a board member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and is on the National Educational Foundation Board of Trustees in the US.

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