As you may know, we were originally based just outside Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, but relocated to Malmesbury in 2006 and have not looked back since!

We find it a delightful, thriving town and are very proud to be based here. So we thought it was worth celebrating some fellow local businesses to acknowledge the contribution they make to our local economy.

(If you are involved in a local business or organisation with a success story then do let us know – we’d love to feature you in a future article!)

Dyson

In terms of local businesses, Dyson really is the big Daddy! Though, of course, they are rather more a global corporation, than a local business. With their current expansion plans to form a European Centre here in Malmesbury, they have a huge impact on the town; so much so that two new roundabouts have recently been built! The Dyson name is now synonymous with innovation and is indeed the subject of the recent book, Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed, which shows how James Dyson turned 5,127 failures into a multi-million-pound business. A truly inspiring example right on our doorstep.

The Wild Food Company

This independent health food shop has been on the High Street for many years. It offers all manner of goodies, including brandy snaps, turkish delight and the local delicacy of Wiltshire sloe gin! It also provides an eclectic range of local, organic produce together with foodstuffs from all corners of the globe, such as spices for Lebanese, Thai and Moroccan cooking to name but a few. This is the home of inspiration for both the layman and the experienced chef. Congratulations for bringing such diversity to Malmesbury.

Centrepiece Cake Design

A wonderfully quirky and stylish cake-making business is a good example of the wealth of creativity and individuality in Malmesbury. Founded by Natalie Kenyon, who trained as a chef de patisserie over twenty years ago, Centrepiece Cake Design has been creating magnificent cakes for celebrations and special events ever since from the Cake Studio in Malmesbury. Specialities ranging from beach huts to flowers and lollipops prove that nothing is too much of a challenge.

Thomas of Malmesbury

This is a great example of a traditional family butcher’s shop, a short walk from the High Street, offering high quality, local produce and excellent service. Michael Thomas started in the butchery trade as a Saturday boy at the age of just twelve. He actually remembers delivering on an old butchers bike in and around Malmesbury in all weathers. He opened his first butcher’s shop in Malmesbury twenty years ago at 41, The Triangle, then took the opportunity in 2003 to move to larger premises at 51, The Triangle, enabling him to expand into the deli and cheese market as well.

In 2010, Michael and Sandy, his wife and business partner, were nominated for a competition in Country Life Magazine to find Britain’s best sausage. To their surprise and great pride, the sausage they came up with, The Malmesbury King, won Britain’s Best Sausage. It is now made every day in Malmesbury and is sent all over the country: a true success story!

Boondocks Festival

While celebrating creativity and diversity, no list would be complete without a mention of Malmesbury’s independent homegrown music festival, which was launched following a fantastic Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign in late 2014. Boondocks provides great live music, kids’ entertainment, stalls, local beer and food from around the world.

The festival is run entirely by volunteers on a not-for-profit basis. Despite being a newcomer on the festival scene, it was nominated for four awards: Best Family Festival, Best Small Festival, best New Festival and even Best Toilets! After the success of last year, it’s all steam ahead for next year’s extravaganza on 8th and 9th July.