Indigo Sun has opened its first-ever tanning salon in London after four years of planning and preparation.
The company has invested £500,000 into the new hi-tech facility that is part of The Old Dairy retail development in South Ruislip, creating eight jobs and bringing the firm’s total workforce to 958.
Its London venue comes closely after the Stirling-based company opened its 100th salon, with founder Frank Taylor intending to open a number of salons in the country’s capital.
Taylor said: “It has always been a long ambition for us to create a salon in London, and after years of planning and research, we are delighted to have finally opened our doors to the public.
“The Old Dairy ticks every single box for us. It’s heavy footfall and parking options mean that local tanners should be able to get quick and easy access to a holiday glow.
“It’s also great to be among some other big names on site, neighbouring the likes of Asda, Cineworld, Nando’s and The Gym, with McDonald’s on the way. It is the perfect location to start our London offering.”
Formerly a Chiquito’s family restaurant, the new Ruislip salon is 1800sq ft and has been designed with an upmarket night club aesthetic. The salon has been fitted with 13 hi-tech sunbeds, with a further three to be installed over the coming months.
Taylor added: “Part of the reason that dedicated tanning salons are growing in popularity is because of the cost and complexity of the equipment.
“Modern sunbeds now have features such as Bluetooth so that customers can connect their phones and play their own choice of music. They also have sophisticated aircon systems and sensitivity settings for specific skin types.
“We design our salons to have more sunbeds in them to reduce waiting times for customers while ensuring our staff have an in-depth knowledge on the use of sunbeds.”
Indigo Sun hopes the Ruislip premises will be the first of many as the firm continues to scout more prime London locations.
