'Memorable' Lancashire glamping brand started in lockdown named among UK’s top 100 businesses
A Lancashire-born brand that began as a lockdown hobby is celebrating a “very special night” after being named among the UK’s top 100 businesses.
Derry Green started The Secret Garden Glamping as a project with his children in 2020. Initially beginning as a single pod in his garden during the covid-19 lockdowns, the Skelmersdale-based brand quickly became the UK's most booked glamping site with a huge waitlist.
Derry secured a £100,000 investment from Deborah Meaden on BBC television show Dragon’s Den in 2023 (aired in January 2024) for 5% of the business, which has now expanded with sites in Lytham St Annes, Devon, Cornwall and Ireland.
The Secret Garden Glamping has gone on to earn a series of accolades and has now been named among the UK’s top 100 businesses.
The luxury camping brand placed at number 21 in this year’s Elite Business Top 100 Awards, which celebrate excellence in SME (Small to Medium Enterprises). The Lancashire-based business was also awarded Customer Service Business of the Year.
Elite Business Magazine, which runs the awards, said The Secret Garden Glamping “combines innovation, design and hospitality excellence to create memorable escapes” and “continues to set new standards in the luxury glamping sector”.
Celebrating the award on social media, The Secret Garden Glamping team said: “A very special night for The Secret Garden Last night we had the incredible honour of attending the Elite Business Top 100 Awards in London, surrounded by so many inspiring businesses and entrepreneurs from across the country.
“To then hear The Secret Garden Glamping announced as Customer Service Business of the Year was truly a moment we will never forget.
“Guest experience has always been at the heart of everything we do, so to have that recognised on a national stage means the world to us.
“A huge thank you to our amazing team who work tirelessly behind the scenes every day, and of course to our wonderful guests who continue to support us and make what we do possible. What an incredible evening and what an honour to be part of such an inspiring community of businesses.”