Mark Holden, managing partner of Barefoot Floors Ltd, with the company’s founder Dawn Gibbins MBE – the ‘Barefoot Entrepreneur.

PRESS RELEASE

1 Sept , 2008

Dawn Hot Foots Into New Venture

Just months after selling her global flooring business for millions of pounds, leading female entrepreneur Dawn Gibbins MBE has launched a new corporate venture.

Dawn has sealed a £1 million deal to buy extensive premises on the outskirts of Macclesfield in Cheshire as the home of Barefoot, a luxury brand that will provide stylish flooring for the consumer sector.

The mother-of-two sold her company Flowcrete – which she built up from a start-up in the 1980s to a global leader in commercial and industrial flooring - earlier this year.

Now she has turned her attentions to a different kind of business, which embraces her love of flooring with her passion for health and wellbeing.

Dawn said: “Barefoot Floors will provide seamless flooring that offers the latest in technological advances to deliver a sophisticated look, creating inspirational space from the ground up.

“It provides a canvas underfoot that caters for discerning customers looking to create homes that look and feel good – and empowers them to lose their shoes and feel the invigorating freedom of barefoot living.”  

Initially, Barefoot Floors will be offered within the Cheshire area only, with a UK-wide roll-out programme – under a franchisee package – launched in the New Year. Products will include stone carpet finishes and glossy seamless surfaces in a range of hues that are ‘poured’ on to the floor. 

This latest venture embraces a harmonic blend of Dawn’s business acumen with her passion for healthy living. A keen Feng Shui practitioner, Dawn sees that the clear, uncluttered Barefoot philosophy supports a holistic approach to UK lifestyles – helping to generate energised, vibrant space in the home.

Nestled in picturesque hills around the Bosley area, on the edge of the Peak District National Park, the new offices were chosen for their harmony with nature.

“It’s the perfect location for the Barefoot brand. For the future we are looking at a range of initiatives from the new offices including a social enterprise to support healthier living in the UK.”

With career achievements including the award of an honorary doctorate from Manchester Metropolitian University in 2004 and the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year accolade in 2003, Dawn has been recognised for her entrepreneurial flair across the UK.

She was also awarded an MBE in 1994 and made a ‘Pioneer to the Life of our Nation’ by Her Majesty The Queen in 2004.

Dawn started Flowcrete in 1982 in South Cheshire, with her late father, Peter Gibbins.

She oversaw its growth to become a global market leader in commercial and industrial flooring with 30 offices worldwide and 12 manufacturing sites of excellence in the UK, Asia, Sweden, Belgium, South Africa, US and Brazil.

The company, which was sold to New York Stock Exchange listed company RPM in April 2008, has a client list which includes world class names such as Bentley, Jaguar, Ascot Racecourse and Marks and Spencer.

More at www.barefoot-floors.com

ENDS

PICTURE CAPTION – Mark Holden, managing partner of Barefoot Floors Ltd, with the company’s founder Dawn Gibbins MBE – the ‘Barefoot Entrepreneur.’

Notes to Editors

Barefoot Floors, based on the edge of the Peak District, near to Macclesfield, provides luxury seamless flooring for the consumer sector. Founded by Dawn Gibbins MBE, ‘the barefoot entrepreneur’ the company’s floors are designed to encourage people to lose their shoes and enjoy the feeling of freedom underfoot. 

Press release issued by Jane Shepherd, Shepherd PR Limited,

01538 308685

07985 129315

Email : jane@shepherd-pr.com

Further information available from Debs Cooper, Barefoot Living Ltd

Email: debs@barefoot.co.uk

Barefoot Phone number is 0845 388 08 08 

www.barefoot-floors.com