Theresa May’s hairdressers facing disaster

A FAMILY hairdressing business that has operated for more than 50 years faces bankruptcy if it does not receive its insurance payout.

Three generations of the Giamattei clan run the Marc Antoni salon chain that now employs 60 staff and boasts former PM Theresa May as a customer.

The company has been paying premiums to Hiscox via a broker for about a decade on each of their branches in Fleet, Henley on Thames, Woodley, Wokingham, Caversham and Bracknell.

Last year the total bill was £4,304, which included cover for closure caused by ‘an occurrence of notifiable human disease’. But despite weeks of inquiries, they were told on April 17 that their claim had been rejected by the insurer, leaving them with a battle for survival.

Director Julie Giamattei has had to take out a £300,000 loan to cover the rent costs of all of her salons, but with huge overheads it will still be a struggle to continue the business without the £500,000 payout they believe is due from the insurer. ‘It’s been awful, an absolute nightmare,’ she says. ‘We haven’t stopped. There have been many sleepless nights for the whole family.

‘The directors, all family, have put our houses up as personal guarantees on long leases and loans, and we could potentially lose our homes.’

They were told by their broker that the claim had been rejected because they closed the salons on the Saturday, two days before Boris Johnson announced the lockdown. Julie says: ‘We were trying to be responsible and stop the spread, like most other businesses were doing.

‘You can’t get any closer contact than being a hair stylist — but this is how they punish us for doing the right thing.’

The company was started by her fatherin-law Bruno Giamattei in 1966. His four sons and their children also work in the salons. Julie adds: ‘We will keep fighting this battle for our staff and for all our wonderful customers.’