Quintessentially celebrates its 25th Anniversary next year, and Darren Ellis reflects on the three years he has been at the helm leading the business out of the Pandemic.
The founders of Quintessentially include Sir Ben Elliot, who is a Non-Executive Director, and remains an integral part of the business. The Group’s HQ is in London, but it has 35 offices all over the world, from Australia to Canada, from South Africa to Los Angeles, from Hong Kong to Brazil.
Its focus is to deliver the best experiences – its strapline “Expect the best – Experience Better” – to its private HNW members and the clients and employees of its Corporate members, through its own Quintessentially branded services and non-branded partners.
Its branded services include its own Travel, Estates, Private Events and Experiences and Education businesses, whilst non branded partners include ticket agencies, restaurant and private clubs and well known luxury brands.
Corporate members include a number of Private Banks, Law firms and wealth managers who receive bespoke services to their employees and/ or clients whilst the Group also provides white labelled services to the elite clients of larger credit card companies.
Darren Ellis, Quintessentially Group CEO, who spent much of his career in investment banking, and remains Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Revolut Trading Ltd, joined three and a half years ago after a year as an advisor to the Group and picks up the story:
Quintessentially is unique in that each member has their own Lifestyle Manager, alongside a Travel Manager, who understands everything about the member’s and their partner’s needs to enable us to support their lifestyles. We like to know everything about our members’ personal lives – their favourite food, holiday requirements, other homes, children’s birthdays, musical taste – as it helps us ensure we cater for their needs and design experiences around them. Similarly, every corporate client has a unique team whose objective is to service their respective clients or employees in the same way.
We provide a proactive service through whatsapp, email, phone and our own App to help our members experience the best wherever they are. We note that certainly since the Pandemic, when all entertainment, hospitality and travel were limited, leisure time in particular became more important and we want our members and partners and families to return from an experience that they remember and reflect positively on time well spent. To that end, we are proactive on content to remind our members that they were skiing in February last year, or their favourite restaurant will open in Barcelona next weekend, or their favourite producer is playing at Glastonbury in June.
It is also the case that not all the best experiences have to be that obvious. It could really be that the best sushi is actually served in a tiny restaurant only open for 5 hours a day in downtown Tokyo.
There are of course the legendary stories that exist about Quintessentially members – closing the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a member to propose to his partner, or silver service dinner on an iceberg or a weekend with a loved one on a desert Island, although Darren cannot be pressed on this, emphasising that members privacy is vital.
DirectorsTalk asked Darren about the growth areas for the Quintessentially Group given the changing world dynamics.
The Middle East – the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular – has become an important market for us. We have recently signed a contract to look after the Saudi Premier League football players through our joint venture in Riyadh – and we are delighted to onboard new partners like the Abu Dhabi Investment Office through our established presence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
We are also excited about the potential of Asia and our new office in Singapore which complements our presence in Hong Kong, whilst our more established markets in Europe and the USA continue to expand with Group renewal rates averaging above 80%
Our growth in the Middle East is underpinned by our Experiences division which in addition to supporting our member base through weddings and private events, also works with a number of luxury brands such as Cartier and Chaumet. We also ran guest management events in incredible KSA Heritage venues like Alula and the Red Sea Film Festival.
The relationship with the Saudi Premier League has also enabled us to understand the issues around relocation for a variety of industries, but particularly sports where obvious issues like visas and licenses are peripheral to finding houses through Quintessentially Estates and schools and colleges through Quintessentially Education.
What can you tell us about the financial well-being of the Group given the recent press articles around the delay in filing accounts?
The press articles centred on Quintessentially (UK) Ltd, which had been late in filing accounts following a very significant restructure just before the Pandemic. However, all group account filings are up to date now, and more importantly, press reports on our financials irrationally ignored the contribution of other Group companies such as Quintessentially Travel Ltd, which whilst having the same majority shareholders, is a separate entity.
We continue to have a completely supportive majority shareholder in World Kinect Corp, a $1.5bn listed US company, with representation on the Quintessentially Group Board. In the meantime, the Group has bounded out of the Pandemic by opening new offices, expanding its Corporate clients, private members and Brand Partnerships, and seeing revenue growth averaging over 20% per annum in the last three years. Annual revenues are now approaching £50m.
And of course, what about rumours of Quintessentially being bought out?
That question is quite timely. We have been approached by a number of interested parties in the last 3 months and are in active discussions. Our goal is to partner with a serious operator in the luxury sector who can provide us with a platform to accelerate Quintessentially’s presence and services. Whilst World Kinect Corp is incredibly supportive, we recognise that it is a non-core investment to them and the timing is right for us to move into a new stage of our development.
And finally, what plans do you have for the 25th Anniversary?
We haven’t yet mentioned the Quintessentially Foundation which we are extremely proud of, and which has raised over £15m for a variety of causes in the last 15 years, and is very close to Ben Elliot’s heart. Every year, the Foundation hosts a pre-Christmas event – The Fayre of St James’s – with a star-studded array of celebrities who will sing, read and perform for the charities which the Foundation supports.
This also includes an auction of prizes provided by our partners. The event is attended by a number of our members, brand partners and corporates, and it is here that we will launch our 25th anniversary celebrations.
Over the course of the next year, this will include a number of events and dinners hosted by our offices across the world and at which our employees, members and partners will be able to celebrate this important milestone. It is a massive achievement to be the original luxury lifestyle company and celebrate our 25th birthday.
Quintessentially, established in 2000, is a leading British luxury concierge company, offering bespoke lifestyle management services to affluent clients worldwide. With offices globally, it provides tailored solutions for travel, dining, exclusive events, real estate, and more. Known for its personalised approach, the company continues to innovate and adapt, maintaining its position as a trusted partner for high-net-worth individuals seeking exceptional experiences.
