SIX Hampshire women were treated to a day of luxury as part of an event coordinated by members of The Business Collective.

The group, which is made of small firms and sole traders, organised a raffle which saw women of Trinity House spoiled with a day of pampering, a cookery master class and a gourmet lunch.

Adrienne Marsden, who started the collective two years ago, said: “An awful lot of people who work for themselves do a lot for charity in their spare time, such as running a marathon, but very few use the skills and resources from their business to charitable ends – The Business Collective brings them together and together we can act like a big organisation.”

The event was held at Jaga kitchen shop in Alresford and local butchers, pub owners and shopkeepers donated food parcels and raffle items. Another Collective member also transported the women via a minibus.

“Charities have an awful lot of resources that can be very useful to small firms,” Ms Marsden added. “The chief executives and trustees of many charities are often former businesspeople in their own right who have a breadth and depth of commercial knowledge that can be shared with our members. There is growing evidence that doing good is also good for business.”