Quintessentially Group

Quintessentially Group
Private
Industry Concierge
Founded 2000
Founders Aaron Simpson
Ben Elliot
Paul Drummond
Headquarters London, England, United Kingdom
Key people
  • Ian Neale, CEO, Europe and US
  • Emma Sherrard Matthew, CEO, Hong Kong
Services Concierge and life style management services[1]
Number of employees
 1,500 (2014[2])
Website quintessentiallygroup.com

Quintessentially Group is a British concierge company founded in 2000 by Aaron Simpson, Ben Elliot and Paul Drummond.[3] The company is headquartered in London[4] and operates 67 offices worldwide.[5] Quintessentially is a members-only "luxury lifestyle management service" that provides concierge services including travel bookings, restaurant recommendations, and access to events.[6] Quintessentially Group includes 33 companies, including Quintessentially Lifestyle, Quintessentially Events, and the Quintessentially Foundation.[7][8][9]

History

Quintessentially was established in 2000 by Aaron Simpson, Paul Drummond and Ben Elliot, the nephew of the Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.[10][11] Elliot met Simpson at Oxford University and later started the company with business partner Drummond as a small, London-based concierge service.[12] Before founding Quintessentially, Elliot had co-founded K-Bar Plc, a group of nightclubs and bars, and Simpson had worked as a film producer.[13]

From 2002 to 2005, Quintessentially expanded from two offices in the United Kingdom to ten around the world.[14] The company grew to over 55 offices in cities such as Hong Kong, Cape Town, Istanbul, Mozambique, Cairo, Panama, Los Angeles and Sydney.[15][16]

In 2010, the company was estimated to have about 86,000 subscribers, including 800 billionaires.[15] Quintessentially moved its headquarters from Soho to Portland Place in early 2011.[17] The company grew over 20 percent during 2012 from £13.5million in turnover to £16.7million by April 2013.[10]

The Quintessentially Lifestyle App was introduced in early 2014. The mobile app features recommendations, reviews, and allows members to make requests to their Lifestyle Managers.[18]

Operations

Quintessentially Group is a network of 33 companies that operate the personal services provided for its private members.[9] These companies include Quintessentially Travel Group, Quintessentially Aviation,[19] Quintessentially Estates,[20] and Quintessentially Gifts.[5]

Quintessentially Lifestyle provides Corporate Solutions and Private Memberships that include preferential rates on hotels and other reservations, access to events, luxury gifts, and other services.[9][16] The 24-hour assistance for lifestyle requests range from last-minute restaurant reservations to organising dog-walkers.[21] Members include many Heads of State, business executives, professional athletes and celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elle Macpherson, Madonna and Coldplay.[22][23] The Company also partners with a number of internationally recognised brands through dual-branded or white-label schemes including British Airways, Gucci, Dunhill and Jaguar.

Quintessentially Lifestyle

Quintessentially Lifestyle is a members-only luxury lifestyle management and concierge service. It is part of the Quintessentially Group.[11] The New York Times called Quintessentially Lifestyle, "The company that transformed the idea of concierge services into 'lifestyle management.'"[22]

CEO Ian Neale heads the operations in Europe and United States, and Emma Sherrard Matthew is the CEO predominantly based in Hong Kong.[24] Globally, Quintessentially Lifestyle employs more than 2,000 Lifestyle Managers in over 60 offices speaking 35 languages.[25]

Quintessentially Foundation

Established in June 2008, the Quintessentially Foundation is the charitable arm of Quintessentially Group.[17] The Quintessentially Foundation has raised more than £4,000,000 through various fundraisers, including the annual Poker Night.[26] In 2013, the annual Poker Night fundraiser generated £160,000 for the Duchenne Children's Trust that funds research for the development of a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.[27] The foundation has supported organisations like Room to Read and has also funded medical research to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Afsun Smith (February 26, 2003). "Beyond The Black Card?". Forbes. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ Ashley Armstrong (November 15, 2014). "Quintessentially hopes its fixers can fetch £120m". Telegraph. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ Robinson, James (30 July 2007). "Guardian Media Group: Luxury magazines have designs on readers with the deepest pockets of all". Guardian Online (London). Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  4. ↑ "Quintessentially Sees Hong Kong as a Natural Fit for its HQ".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Marrhew Schneier (December 17, 2014). "A Gift So Right, She’ll Know You Got Help". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  6. ↑ "When it's the gardener's day offand the topiary really needs a trim". New York Times. 8 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.
  7. ↑ "Quintessentially: The Luxury Lifestyle". Lux Worldwide. July 21, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lauren Matison (October 23, 2008). "Quintessentially Opens Event Division in New York, Hires New Director". BizBash. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Matthew Kassel (March 8, 2012). "A Personal Concierge Service That Will Do Your Errands—And Book You A Yacht On The French Riviera". Business Insider. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sarah Bridge (January 25, 2014). "Pandering to the jet set sends profits soaring at concierge group Quintessentially". This is Money. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Jacobs, Emma. "21st Century Butlers". http://www.ft.com/''. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  12. ↑ Anna Tyzack (October 20, 2011). "My perfect weekend: Ben Elliot". Telegraph. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Leaders in Luxury Ben Elliot". Elite Traveler. February 5, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ Pham, Lisa. "Hey, Big Spender, You Want Value?". http://www.nytimes.com/''. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mark Potter (June 3, 2010). "Quintessentially goes upmarket to beat recession". Reuters. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Membership To Quintessentially – The Ultimate Christmas Gift". Elite Traveler. October 17, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Business Diary: Ben Elliot, Quintessentially". Financial Times. August 29, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ King, Jen. "Quintessentially Lifestyle app uses geolocation to curate concierge experience". http://www.luxurydaily.com/''. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  19. ↑ Terry Spruce (August 23, 2011). "Quintessentially Aviation and Blue Star Jets collaborate". Corporate Jet Investor. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ Angus Watson (July 4, 2009). "The TV or Radio Is Always On". Financial Times. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Quintessentially. The finest travel experience to elite travellers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing". http://www.yareah.com/''. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Pham, Lisa. "Hey, Big Spender, You Want Value?". http://www.nytimes.com/''. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  23. ↑ Tsang, Denise. "UK club Quintessentially Lifestyle goes the extra mile for clients". www.scmp.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  24. ↑ Yan, Cathy. "What’s Hot on the Concierge List". wsj.com. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  25. ↑ "Quintessentially's Most Extravagant Requests". http://www.esquire.co.uk/''. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "The Quintessentially Foundation Gives Guests The Chance to Play to Their Hand For a Great Cause". Chartwell Media. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  27. ↑ Juliet Conway (October 11, 2013). "Quintessentially Foundation Annual Poker Night at the Savoy Hotel". Daily Mail. Retrieved February 6, 2015.

External links