Cheltenham woman who provided mobile bar for Love Island winners’ baby shower takes business to next level

A Gloucestershire woman who set up a mobile bar as a part-time project is hoping her new permanent HQ will help serve up even more success. Leanne Matthews, 31, has lived in Cheltenham for the last 10 years and launched event bar hire business The Drunken Mare in 2018, providing cocktails and bar service across events, weddings and celebrations alongside her full-time job.

After two years packed with events every weekend, Leanne took the business on full time in 2020, launching an online cocktail subscription service to help the business survive during the pandemic. The former insurance professional has now opened her first permanent premises at Space Business Centre Gloucester, where she is able to meet clients, manage stock, and experiment with new cocktail creations as she bids to take her business to more events across the country.

The Drunken Mare offers a fully customisable event bar service, with the mobile horse box able to switch between a gin bar, cocktail station, or beer shack – all specified by the hosts. In addition to a range of festivals and weddings in Gloucestershire and beyond, Leanne provided bar services at Love Island winners Alex and Olivia Bowen’s luxury safari-themed baby shower last year.

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Leanne said: “I used to work in insurance and ran the bar hire business on the side every weekend. And then when the pandemic arrived, fortunately we were able to keep going by offering a home cocktail delivery kit.

“It feels like the business has come a long way since then, and it’s really exciting to now be moving out of the home as it continues to grow. We have a packed events schedule with lots of weddings and festivals, so it’s brilliant to have this new facility to help service this.

“To have moved out of my living room feels like a huge step, and I’m looking forward to taking the business to another level in the coming months and years with the flexibility of having a rolling 30- day lease.”

Lucy Iles, Site Manager at Space Business Centre Cheltenham, said: “Leanne is a fantastic addition to our business community in Gloucester, and adds to a really strong line-up of catering and hospitality specialists who cover events across the country from their base at Space Cheltenham.

“She is already well established in the region, and we are thrilled she has chosen Space to help take her business to the next level.”

Space Business Centres Gloucester and Cheltenham are owned by property development company AC Lloyd and offer flexible, multi-use units ranging from 275 to 775 sq ft.

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