A WORCESTER hair salon is continuing to grow after purchasing an award-winning salon in Hereford.

Ian and Naomi Beswick, owners of Avant Garde Salons, Worcester have acquired the Peter Prosser Salon.

The acquisition of the Hereford-based Peter Prosser group, has allowed Ian and Naomi to expand their established Avante Garde brand into training due to Peter Prosser - one of the most highly respected stylists nationally - owning it’s own, well known training academy.

In short this will allow the couple to offer training to more students, educating the future of the industry to the best possible standard, allowing them to be trained to a very high level and progress immediately to the salon floor.

Mr Beswick said: "With our own in house training academy we intend to grow our reach beyond Hereford and attract those who are keen to be the best in the industry from Worcestershire.

"We can now provide the best opportunities to those at the very beginning of their career as a hairdresser.

"The acquisition changes the size of our business considerably and this has allowed us to access to the best training and products, as well accelerating the salons brand partnership with Wella, meaning the salons will be some of the first in the UK to try new products and experience the top level of training support."

Avant Garde is going through a rebrand including a new website with the ability to buy products, book appointments and read all about trends and inspiration. This will be further enhanced with a new booking system and phone system in the Hereford salon.

The new brand style will eventually roll out to the Hereford salon. For now the salon is running exactly as it always has but with some Avant Garde customer experience enhancements.

The massage chairs synonymous with the Worcester salon will be fitted in Hereford soon, along with little finishing touches which will enhance the customer experience, such as fresh bean-to-cup coffee, an improved wash area, updates to the customer journey in the salon.

Avant Garde will also inherit the Peter Prosser Artistic Team, who has been on stage and shows all over the UK showcasing stunning work loved by the industry.

Just this year a member from the Artistic Team made it through to the final of the Wella Trend-Vision competition held at The Round House in London.

Naomi Beswick said: "This is an amazing achievement for the Artistic Team, and we are delighted to part of this exciting and talented team.

"It’s important now that Avant Garde and Peter Prosser merge seamlessly both from a customer and staff perspective.

"With a collective team of approximately 70 staff, we can’t wait to see the business continue to grow and flourish."