Coutts & Co hosts first event for Surrey businesswomen

Coutts & Co Chief Executive, Sarah Deaves today hosted the bank’s first lunch for businesswomen in Surrey as part of a continued commitment to expand the business in this market.

Twenty of the region’s top female entrepreneurs gathered at Cambio’s Restaurant in Guildford to hear entrepreneur Deborah Fern talk about her experiences in running Fern Training and Development and Stancliffe Ed Ltd, a business which targets workforce development – in particular the national shortfall in NVQ Level 2 targets. The two employ over 300 people in 15 locations throughout the UK. In February, Fern Training & Development was acquired by the Carter & Carter Group plc and Deborah has now moved into semi-retirement whilst continuing to work within the Group in an advisory capacity.

In greeting the guests, Sarah Deaves spoke of her delight at bringing Coutts’ Women in Business lunches to the County. “Surrey has a vibrant community of high flying women and with a 23% female client base in the Guildford office, this is an important growth area for our business.

“Women have been vital to Coutts throughout its 300 year history, initially as both owners and clients, and in more recent times being represented right across our business teams, including my role as first female CEO.

“Today, we do business with over 9,500 of the country’s top entrepreneurs and professionals and have found that they particularly value meeting each other at events like today’s, which we hold on a regular basis across the country.”

A year ago, Surrey was identified as the country’s top area for high net worth women, with over 21,000 choosing to reside in the region.

After the event Deborah commented: “Today’s lunch was a great opportunity to meet some of my peers from the region and share with them my experiences in becoming successful in business from a woman’s perspective. The discussions that ensued during the subsequent lunch gave a fascinating insight in to other people’s individual experiences of being a woman in the business world, which is still predominantly male.”

Sarah added; “It is still quite unusual to meet a large number of senior businesswomen at networking events, so we have added this type of forum to give a different “twist” to our programme.  It is proving an attractive change for the growing number of businesswomen we are working with, helping develop connections, relationships and more business for all of them.”

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For further media information on Coutts contact:

Claire Symonds, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co on 0207 957 2650 or mobile 07970 001149 or e-mail claire.symonds@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

• Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.
• Coutts manages the wealth of 96,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of 40 offices globally.
• The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. The most recent new opening was Liverpool at the end of 2003. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Tunbridge Wells & Winchester.
• Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.
• Coutts for three years running, (2003-2005) was awarded ‘Best Use of Long-Only Multi-Manager Structures’ at the Private Asset Management Awards
• This year Coutts & Co was named the UK’s Best Private Bank by Euromoney magazine
• Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Coutts & Co Registered in England No 36695Registered Office 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS
• Calls may be recorded

www.coutts.com