FEBRUARY 2014
Invitation to Number 11 Downing Street concludes A-Star Sports’ year of achievement
Gary Bassett , Stephen Mosley MP and Sharon Bassett
n A-Star Sports, the award- winning multi-sports coaching franchise business, was invited to Number 11 Downing Street in December to contribute to a national event that celebrates the
UK’s small business expertise. The invitation, which topped off a year of unprecedented success and recognition for A-Star Sports, coincided with the conclusion of the Small Business Saturday Bus Tour and
the success of great local enterprises up and down the country. Gary Bassett, co-founder and managing director, flew the flag for A-Star Sports at the invitation of Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for Skills and Enterprise, ahead of the launch the following day of the first Small Business Saturday, which was held on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. He said: “This is a great honour and terrific recognition for small businesses working hard across the UK. To be involved at this level is beyond our wildest dreams. It has been a successful year but we never thought we would be walking through that famous door.” Gary represented A-Star Sports in the halls of power as one of the Small Business Saturday 100 – successful businesses that were highlighted in the 100 days leading up to the event. “The company has won a string of
awards since it was established and we are so pleased for our team and all our franchisees that our efforts are being recognised this way.”
There could be a place for Churchill’s in Iceland
n Over 600 festivalgoers in Grindavik swamped the team from Churchill’s Fish and Chips, devouring over 700 portions of fish and chips in just four hours. The Churchill’s team received a special invitation to help bring to life the 60th anniversary festival of one of their main fish suppliers, Porbjorn, by delighting guests from all over Iceland with their traditional British fish and chips.
Managing director of Churchill’s, James Lipscombe, said: “We have been working with for more than 20 years and I can honestly say that the quality of the fish they produce for our stores is outstanding. When they asked us to come over and help them cook fish and chips we jumped at the chance! To be able to give
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something back to the people that catch the eight tons of sustainable cod and haddock that we use every week was a great feeling.” Erikur Oli, fishing fleet manager, said: “It was really great to have Churchill’s come over and cook their superb fish and chips for our guests; everybody enjoyed it so much that we have invited them back in June to cook for us again. At one point the queue was over 70 people deep, we’ve never seen anything like it!” One thing is clear – there is a huge appetite for British fish and chips in Iceland. Churchill’s has been inundated with pleas from local residents to come back soon and a number of meetings have been set up with potential franchisees looking to open stores in Reykjavik.
James said: “We’re delighted with
the response Churchill’s has received in Iceland. Forging great relationships based on trust, integrity and honesty with everybody involved in our business is one of the keys to our success, we look forward to forging these close working relationships with our franchisees in the future.”
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