Former teen entrepreneur continues golden ‘touch’ with salon expansion

Elegant Touch Beauty, based at Mercia Marina, near Willington, is trebling the size of its operation after starting from very humble beginnings back in 2012.

The business, which now employs 10 staff, is thought to be the only salon in the county to offer a treatment used by a raft of celebrities.

Owner Anna Inglis, 32, first set up the beauty and wellness business at the age of 18 from a rented salon room in Hilton, Derbyshire. Two years later, in 2014, she heard about the new Boardwalk shopping and leisure development at Mercia Marina from one of her clients and took on one of the vacant units.

Now, Elegant Touch Beauty is expanding into a two-storey unit at Mercia Marina from Wednesday, July 10, that until recently was occupied by interiors store Zing.

Ambitious Anna, who has plans to introduce a raft of new services, said: "Things have gone really well. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better start in my career or more lovely clients.

“I was born in Torquay, so you could say that I have always been drawn to the water. The marina was our first big premises, and we have really made a success of our business here."

Opportunity literally knocked for Anna a few months ago, when the owner of Zing decided to retire, offering Anna and the team the perfect opportunity to take over the larger premises next door.

Anna added: "Over the years, we had become a little tight on space due to our immense growth – but by taking over the unit next door, we are in effect trebling in size.

“I have such an amazing team and I am only managing to expand because of them. They are such good girls who really do care about our clients and the salon. I cannot thank them enough.”

To celebrate the business’ continued success, Elegant Touch Beauty will host a glamorous opening event on July 27 with a singer, goodie bags, free samples and special offers. There will also be a welcome glass of fizz for visitors.

Anna believes that Elegant Touch Beauty will also now become the only salon in Derbyshire to offer Lipofirm Pro – an advanced solution for non-invasive body sculpting, fat reduction and skin tightening that, according to the brand website, has been used by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Katie Price and Kerry Katona.

The salon offers flexible payment plans on the ground-breaking technology, making it a cost-effective option for clients.

Other services offered by the salon include Elemis skincare treatments, deluxe manicures, pedicures, IPL treatments and massages. Elegant Touch Beauty will also sell a curated selection of new products.

Anna said: “From indulgent skincare to exquisite home décor, we are expanding our shop to make visiting Elegant Touch Beauty an even more enjoyable experience.

“Some of the brands previously sold by Zing will also be making a reappearance, so that customers can still purchase them at the marina.”

The business has also secured a premises licence enabling it to offer group bookings for things like hen parties, birthdays, and kids’ pamper parties. Anna is also keen to forge partnerships with other businesses at the marina to offer food for those events.

Robert Neff, general manager at Mercia Marina, said: “The expansion of Elegant Touch Beauty is just one of many success stories here at Mercia Marina.

"The marina is home to some amazing independent retailers and seeing some of our original tenants moving into larger premises is a celebration for us all. We wish Anna the very best for the future of her business."

To find out more, visit www.eleganttouchuk.co.uk. For information about other retail and leisure outlets at Mercia Marina, visit www.merciamarina.co.uk.