Owners of Falkirk’s Couper & Co moving on

The owners of a popular Falkirk hair salon have decided to sell up and begin a new adventure.

Graeme and Jackie Hamilton have been running Couper & Co for over 22 years, the last 12 from their landmark building in Princes Street.

But now they are leaving town and heading east.

With their three daughters grown up and scattered around the globe – in Australia, Sweden and London – the couple decided the time was right for them to make some changes.

Graeme said: “We’ve always loved the east coast and spend a lot of time there. After a lot of thought we decided to buy a house in North Berwick and that’s where we’re moving to.

“We’ve sold our house here and that’s where the pair of us and the dog will be heading. The new house is just minutes from the beach so we hope to be there a lot.”

Jackie added: “There comes a time when it seems right to do something different. We’ve had a lot of good times at Couper & Co but now it’s right to move on.

“ We also want to be able to go and visit the girls more which isn’t easy with such a busy salon.”

However, the couple aren’t turning their backs completely on the profession which has given them so much success and have already bought a retail unit in Dunbar which they intend to transform into a new salon, Jack & Ivy.

Over the years Couper & Co has picked up numerous awards for their work, twice being Scottish champions at the L’Oreal Colour Awards.

They’ve also been regular finalists in The Falkirk Herald Business Awards, winning Best Small Business and Best Training and Development in 2010; Best Sales and Marketing in 2013 and 2015; and Graeme was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011.

Both believe the secret of their success has been investing in their business and their staff.

Jackie said: “We’ve been loyal to our staff and they’ve been loyal to us, as have our customers, many of whom have been coming to us since we had our first salon in Newmarket Street.”

Graeme added: “Training has been key. I was influenced by what I learned from the Vidal Sassoon group and that’s where we’ve been sending staff ever since.”

Couper & Co has been taken over by the Fife-based Lime Group.