Five minutes with… Georgie Maytum, Co-Founder of Maytum & Clark Lifestyle

Georgie Maytum tells us how she managed to build a new concierge business, Maytum & Clark Lifestyle, with co-founder Polly Clark in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic. From rocky starts to great successes, the boutique team brings clients out-of-the-ordinary events with a personal touch.  

What were you doing before you launched Maytum & Clark Lifestyle?

Polly and I used to work together at Harrods where we managed the Lifestyle team, which looked after their top 250 clients and their families. We dealt with all of their concierge requests.

I then left Harrods and worked at an events company, while Polly took over my role. A while later, after I had had my first baby, we were talking about doing something together. We had great contacts, partners and suppliers that we’d worked with for years, so we set up in November 2019. In hindsight, it was terrible timing! However, it was just the two of us so we didn’t have big overheads and we spent the time upgrading our contacts, so we now go directly to the source for most events, which is great. The company has now been working at full capacity for over a year.

How has the business grown over the past year?

We get the majority of our business through word of mouth, which is really nice. We work with private clients, corporate clients, a few wealth management companies and banks. We also get clients through our partners and suppliers, who give business to us. It’s so nice that we can help each other out.

What’s the reach of your business?

We get asked this quite a lot. It’s tempting to say London, but actually if I look at what we’ve done recently, such as source Formula 1 tickets in Texas, our reach is global. However, our strength lies in the UK, as it’s where our previous roles were focused too.

What sets your company apart?

Firstly, our costing for clients is different. We don’t charge a monthly or annual fee to use our services. Only when a request goes ahead do we charge a management fee – it’s a really popular pricing framework for our clients. A lot of them aren’t based in the UK, so they can just use us when they’re here. It’s good for new clients too, because they can dip their toe in without worrying about being tied into something.

Another thing that sets us apart is that we’re a small company. It’s just Polly and me, so we offer a really personal service. We don’t just sell someone tickets. We find out where they’re coming from, help with their travel arrangements, and message them along the way. It’s a really personal, hand-holding service.

What are the most exciting things you’ve been working on recently?

A couple of months ago it was very Christmas-themed, as you can imagine. We planned a lunch for a client on Christmas Day, we organised a Thanksgiving dinner for someone else, and we had a request for an impressive Christmas tree installation at a client’s home too.

We also created a lot of children’s experiences. We organised visits from Father Christmas on the weekends leading up to Christmas. Our clients got their close friends and family together, and welcomed Father Christmas and his helpers into their house – it was very sweet. For the past two years we haven’t been able to do anything festive because of Covid, so it was so lovely to see it all happening again.

How does your business sit in the world of prime property?

A lot of our clients aren’t based in London full time so they need someone to look after their properties when they’re not there. That’s how we came across Bold & Reeves. Initially, we had a particular high-profile client who was looking at different property management companies and we recommended Bold & Reeves. On the flipside, clients at Bold & Reeves can use us as their port of call when they’re in London to get access to sold-out or exclusive events.

What do you have on the horizon in 2023?

You’ll need to keep an eye out for our monthly marketing email. It always highlights the best things to see and do. Some personal highlights include working with Camp Kerala – they’ve got something really exciting planned for the new year. As well as that, we’ve got plenty of music events, such as Taylor Swift, and the British summer social season with Wimbledon and the Chelsea Flower Show. For the latter, we work closely with the Belmond Hotels and Le Manoir is doing a really exciting garden-to-plate experience. So stay tuned!

To find out more about Maytum & Clark Lifestyle, please visit www.maytumandclarklifestyle.com