Before founding Luxury Group, Claire Leslie was Director of Sales and Marketing at Cliveden House & Spa, where she led all sales and marketing activity across the property including rooms, weddings, events, spa and the launch of the new restaurant, Andre Garrett at Cliveden.

Claire managed a team of nine in-house staff in addition to external creative and PR agencies. Her role focused on brand development and driving revenue growth across all departments. She also authored all marketing brochure and website content, ensuring brand consistency and a refined tone of voice across channels.

One of Claire’s major initiatives was the strategic launch of the new restaurant, introducing unknown chef Andre Garrett (formerly of Galvin at Windows) to the market. Her objective was not only to establish the restaurant’s profile independently, but to use its success to drive visibility and sales across the wider resort offering.

To achieve this, Claire appointed a specialist PR consultant to manage the chef’s media launch. Running alongside this she delivered a new website, launch collateral, direct mail campaigns and tactical promotions to generate demand, while supporting the hotel’s broader revenue streams in rooms, weddings and events.

The results were exceptional. Restaurant revenue doubled in its first year and Andre Garrett at Cliveden earned top industry accolades, including Best Dessert at Taste of London and Best Wine List by The World of Fine Wine. Overall hotel revenue rose from circa GBP8 million in 2012 to circa GBP11 million in 2014, underlining the commercial impact of Claire’s integrated and results-driven leadership.