HISTORY

Lena Björck founded Inn or Out in 1995. Having worked in five-star hotels around the world she realised London deserved better. Alone in a foreign country with no computer or financial backing it was a brave decision. She began cooking at home and delivering food via the London Underground, with family from Sweden sending over printed menus.

A key turning point was a £2500 loan from the Prince's Trust - she made her case in a typically enterprising manner - by showing a delicious cake get crushed by a rush-hour crowd on the tube. Not many business proposals are conducted underground, but this one enabled her to buy a computer and a van and the business has not looked back since.

Inn or out have kept up very close ties with the Prince's Trust, catering for many fundraising events - including Party in the Park - sponsoring prizes and mentoring students. This has been a familiar pattern as the company has grown, with many early clients still firm friends and loyal customers.

With wheels on the road and a computer behind the scenes, Lena set about growing the business. Her determination and iron will to succeed, combined with a nerveless self-confidence and sense of humour form the backbone of Inn or Out's business ethic, the twin planks of which are a "total devotion to customer service" and a commitment to "under-promise and over-deliver".

The business was launched into the big time when she won the contract for the American Ambassador's fourth of July party, a 2000-strong glitterati event in Regents Park. Still catering from her home kitchen and flying in trusted chefs and staff from Sweden, the event was a great success and proved she could still offer a superb and individual level of service to a large, high-profile guest list.

Before long the business outgrew Lena's warehouse-style apartment and Inn or Out then spent seven years in the heart of the city, slowly taking over more and more of Newbury Street as the business operations and client list expanded. In May 2006 there was no more room to grow and the company moved operations to a much larger base in Bermondsey, from where they continue to cater for events as diverse as small, intimate dinners at home to Rolls-Royce at the Paris Air Show.

The journey has not been without accolades, with both Lena and the company picking up many awards along the way. Most notably, in 1999 Lena won the National Woman into Business Award for the inspirational way she had grown the business against all the odds.