Husband buys wife a shop full of flowers for Valentine's Day

Amanda Rawlings’ lifelong dream of owning a florist blossomed this month after she took over Dawson’s Flowers in Whittlesey earlier this month.

For the past two years, Amanda has worked part time, running floristry work as a side-line, and has been thinking about setting up her own business for some time. Her plans finally came to fruition when she discovered a local florist was retiring and putting the business up for sale. The former NHS worker and mother of three, Amanda said: “I went home and told my husband, who said, ‘Let’s do it’. If we didn’t do it now, we wouldn’t do it. He bought the business for me so I just needed to get myself set up.”

She said her husband had never even bought her a bunch of flowers before buying the business.

Amanda trained as a florist after she left school but took time out to raise her children. She returned to work getting a job in the NHS where she has worked for 17 years. After opening a Lloyds Business Bank Account for Amanda, Local Business Manager at Lloyds Bank, Matt Punter, also helped the florist get adequate cover for her business, including public liability, employer liability and shop insurance.

Amanda said: “I was gobsmacked at how quick it all was. I’d been to see three other local banks and they wouldn’t see me for three weeks, but I was all set up in two days at Lloyds Bank. I’m just about ready in time for Valentine’s Day which is one of the busiest times of year for me.

“They’ve done everything for me which means the world to me because I know I have reliable support. If I need something doing, they’ll get it done quickly.”

Matt said: “It’s really rewarding to help people like Amanda make their dreams come true. After spending a few years doing floristry more as a hobby, she’s now able to make a real living from something she loves.

“I’m glad I was able to help Amanda save money by re-negotiating the cost of one of her local contracts. She’ll save £2,500 a year, in five years, she’ll have been able to invest £12,500 back into her business.”

Lloyds Bank also set Amanda up with Internet Banking and Cardnet so that she could accept card payments, and she will continue to get support from her Local Business Manager, particularly in the first few weeks as she looks to develop an online presence for the business and plans to branch out and take on more weddings and corporate events.