A Dale entrepreneur has described her life as going from ‘trauma to triumph’ after winning a slew of awards.
Catherine Brennan overcame a difficult and challenging childhood where she underachieved at school, to running an international luxury travel company.
The idea for her Pamper Retreats business formed while she was on a trip to Ibiza in 2017 after taking voluntary redundancy from her office supplies sales role.
She said: “While I was there, I saw a gap in the market where I was linking pampering with villas, and I came up with the idea of Pamper Retreats.”
The 38-year-old added: “It started by linking wellness – like massages, pampering, make-up and hair – with villas as a concept. Then it has grown into weddings, birthday retreats and hen parties.”
She got a start in business through the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust) which awarded her a maximum grant of £5,000.
Later she was identified by the NatWest Accelerator programme as a rising entrepreneur which offered her office space and mentoring, in 2019.
She then moved to Ibiza full time, and had scarcely been in business a year when the pandemic hit. Having only been trading for 12 months, she was not entitled to government support.
Catherine said: “I ended up being a nanny, a ticket-seller, a pet sitter, a teacher – I taught English online to a Chinese school, and hosted princess parties.
“I did that to keep my business afloat.
“During that time, I had a miscarriage, one of my close friends took their own life, I had multiple losses in the family, and shortly after that I returned to the UK because my mum was diagnosed with cancer.”
Despite the challenges, she sprung back from Covid to create huge growth in her business.
Catherine added: “Now I live between here, Ibiza and other areas of Europe. My business has grown from one market in Ibiza, to 12 markets across Europe.”
She counts television personalities Vicky Pattison, Chloe Ferry and Elma Pazar among her customers.
The entrepreneur is also helping TV Love Island personality Cally Jane Beech by organising her hen-do in May, and her wedding in June.
Her perseverance led her to being identified as LUXlife Magazine’s Most Inspiring Female Luxury Travel and Tourism Entrepreneur of 2024.
This was followed last year by earning a Global LUXlife Excellence Award for luxury concierge services.
More recently she has received awards as Luxury International Travel Brand of the Year 2025, Most Inspiring Female Entrepreneur 2025 and Wellness Retreat of the Year 2025.
