English event organisers set to conquer Chamonix
Charlie Charesworth is, as his name suggests, a British man through and through. For many years he worked in the City of London before turning his back on the financial sector in order to settle in Chamonix where he fell in love… like many of his compatriots ! That was in 2005. Since then he has opened events agency, Haute Pursuit, using his network of contacts to drum up business with companies based in London and elsewhere in the UK, all of whom are delighted to be able to deal with an Englishman when organising their seminars and other team-building or incentive events.
“Our own backgrounds explain the reason why most of our clients were initially from the UK,” states Nathalie Eeses, project manager. “But we’re now starting to target the French and Swiss markets, largely because a number of hotels such as Le Morgan, Les Aiglons, Le Mont-Blanc and L’Albert 1er are coming to us to help organise events for their business clientele. We also return the favour, because we’re often asked to find hotel accommodation, guides or a restaurant”. Haute Pursuit can organise events from start to finish, together with individual elements such as transport from Geneva airport, themed days in the Val d’Aoste, Annecy or Geneva, trips to watch the Tour de France cycle race, golf competitions like the joint Franco-Italo-Swiss event planned for September, airboarding in the village of Le Tour and visits to “Les Vielles Luges” restaurant located in Les Houches following a snow-shoe outing…
The agency employs about 15 people during its busy season and also works with local guides such as Sébastien Rougegré. It organises about 15 projects every year, more than half of which take place during the winter. Based to the south of Chamonix, near the departure of the Aiguille du Midi cable car, Haute Pursuit handles events that involve from five to 100 people for stays of three or four days on average. Banking and finance have naturally been their primary source of clients, closely followed by the auto industry and consultancy. Rates start at 80 € for a half day’s activities including a meal and 100 € for a night’s accommodation in a hotel.
04 80 80 61 88
