Press Release 6th October 2009

It was a night of glitz and glamour for Diana Serle who attended the Grazia O2 X Entrepreneur of the Year Awards as a hopeful contender.
The swanky event, hosted by actress and Big Brother presenter, Davina McCall, was held on the 31st floor of Centre Point, with views stretching across an impressive London skyline. Guests were treated to a lavish serving of food and drink at the VIP reception, which included fish-and-chip canapés, profiteroles, and top-notch champagne.

Keen to demonstrate that all that glitters isn't gold, Serle, who founded her unique jewellery party plan business nine years ago - and who is one of the franchising industry's most notable female advocates - wore a stunning pink dress, along with an ornate necklace chosen from her own personal collection of signature Silverdaze pieces.

Says Diana: "It was a truly fabulous evening. It's wonderful to have received so many accolades over the last couple of weeks."

Serle was one of eight finalists selected from more than 500 entrants. On the judging panel were founder of beauty empire Space NK, Nicky Kinnaird; Grazia's Editor-in-Chief, Jane Bruton; and Head of Small Business Marketing at 02, Simon Devonshire.

"The initial judging process was intensive," says Diana, "but the people on the panel seemed to like Silverdaze a great deal. Simon Devonshire kept on saying how impressed he was with me, and with the brand. And Nicky Kinnaird told me that she thought Silverdaze was growing at exactly the right pace to properly support our growing network of franchisees. They were very complimentary; their comments are a powerful reminder of how far Silverdaze has come in the last nine years."

"Of course, I was disappointed not to win the grand prize," she adds, "but being the South East winner and attending the Grazia O2 event at Centre Point has given me a real boost - so I feel like a winner! On top of that, we were the only franchised business to get through to the final. I hope that my success paves the way for other women with their own franchised businesses."

Since winning in the South East region, and appearing in Grazia, Diana and her team at Silverdaze have experienced an explosion in the number of calls from women keen to find out more about the Silvedaze franchise opportunity.

Says Operations Director, Richard Nimse: "Thanks to Diana's entry into the Awards, and her appearance in Grazia magazine, the level of leads we've had from potential franchisees has skyrocketed. There's also been a massive spike in the number of hits we've seen on the website, with our average number of page visits shooting up from 3,000 to almost 12,000 per day."

He adds: "This level of national exposure has helped the network, and increased the level of party enquiries coming in.
Just being short-listed for the Grazia O2 X Award has been great for everyone involved in Silverdaze. It just goes to show what the right kind of publicity can do for a growing franchised brand."