Gloucestershire sports brand moves into its first HQ

A Gloucestershire independent clothing brand is targeting growth of 300 per cent next year after moving into its first official headquarters following nearly six years of trading from home.

Sara Da Silva Brazilian Sportswear is run by husband and wife duo Sara Da Silva and Simon Monahan – and they have recently taken up a unit at Gloucester Space Business Centre in Quedgeley.

Since its inception six years ago the pair have grown the now six-figure e-commerce business from the comfort of their own home and predict their new premises will help propel them into seven-figures.

The business was formed after Sara, a Brazilian living in Ireland at the time, became frustrated with the fit, quality and availability of sportswear.

She and Simon, an Irish man with a background in fashion & retail and an engineer graduate, decided to collaborate to create a clothing brand of their own, with one mission - to create clothing to support and fit women with real bodies, through the different stages of their lives.

It specialises in clothing for active lifestyles and is known for its high waisted, high compression leggings made in Brazil with Brazilian textiles.

Sara said: "Finally moving into a premises of our own is something we have been planning and dreaming of for a long time.

"Over the last six years we have sacrificed so much including our home, which until our recent move to Space Business Centre was littered with boxes and “living in our office” we were in work-mode all the time.

"With the growth of the business and lack of space at home we decided to contact Space Business Centre to weigh up the possibility of renting a unit. After viewing one of the available units we knew almost immediately that it was a perfect fit for our business at this stage of our journey.

“We’ve built a strong brand and reputation since forming and our customers have come to expect a certain standard from our products. Our challenge now is to stay true to those values and our identity as we grow in scale and bigger opportunities present themselves.

"Our goal next year is to increase our annual revenue by 300 per cent, build our team and inevitably migrate into a larger premises, which we expect to be able to do here at Space Business Centre.”

Gloucester Space Business Centre is owned by property investment company AC Lloyd, and is one of two centres in Gloucestershire.

Space Business Centres offer flexible, easy in and easy out, multi-use units ranging from 275 to 775 sq ft.

Toni Willoughby, site manager at the Space Business Centres, said: "We’re excited to be welcoming Sara and Simon to our business community at Gloucester.

"They have done a fantastic job so far to build the business to this point and we hope that by joining us at Space Business Centres we can help them to take that next step and support the business’s further development.“