A WILTSHIRE entrepreneur who launched her company ten years ago has seen a 100 per cent rise in sales during lockdown.

Tracy Richards runs dog and horse hygiene products company Aqueos Care Ltd from her home in Sharcott near Pewsey.

She works closely with fellow businesswoman Claire Brewerton, who runs The Virtual Business Centre Ltd at Brinkworth House near Chippenham. Claire’s team of 25 have been working continuously during the Covid-19 lockdown which meant they could deal with a dramatic increase in calls and orders for Tracy’s products.

Mrs Richards said: “Aqueos is an organically growing business. It’s had a steady turnover for several years and then lockdown came.

"As things progressed I realised I could create more larger-sized bottles which are all made in the UK. Our products are alcohol and bleach-free and sustainable yet has active ingredients which kill Covid-19. Suddenly orders increased dramatically.

“Claire supported me by ensuring she had enough capacity to deal with more orders and calls.

"While I realise for many other business owners this has been a terrible time, Aqueos has seen a 100 per cent increase in orders.Mrs Richards, who lives in Pewsey with her family, set up Aqueos ten years ago after previously working as managing director of a clothes wholesaler.

She has always loved animals, particularly horses, having ridden since a young age and having her own horses from her teenage years.

“I’d been given some samples to try from a colleague on a product for the human dental market and it made me think that I could create the same sort of product for horses and dogs.

"I went on to undertake a year’s research and development to create a range of hygiene products which are environmentally-friendly yet with active ingredients to tackle nasties such as Parvo Virus, Strangles and Ringworm.”

As her business grew, Tracy found herself dealing with many calls, leaving her little time to actually run her business.

She met Claire at a business event and realised having a virtual receptionist would give her more time.

Mrs Brewerton said: “We’ve worked with Tracy for a number of years yet even we didn’t expect the huge rise in orders we’ve dealt with over the last six months.

"We’re thrilled that Aqueos will double their turnover this year because that helps all of us in a time of economic difficulty. I’d like to thank Tracy for complete trust in us to represent her business.”

Mrs Brewerton has run The Virtual Business Centre with her husband and co-founder Marc for 21 years.

Her team provides services including telephone answering, intelligent telemarketing, outsourced customer service department, live chat, marketing via text service and email inbox management.

They offer cover seven days a week from 8am to 11pm at night, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm at weekends and only close over the Easter weekend and Christmas.

Their clients also include high-end shoe manufacturer Eves & Gray London; Herbs on the Hill offering herb-based natural skin care products, and support local business owners like Chris Goodchild of Supportwise IT Services Ltd.

To find out more, visit https://www.virtualbusinesscentre.com