Swipe Right for Business: Hythe Gets Its First Speed Networking
Martello Manor, part of the award-winning Boutique Care Homes group, played host to Hythe’s very first Speed Networking Event on 14th May 2026. The format will be familiar to anyone who has tried speed dating: timed rounds, a bell to signal the switch, and a room full of people who arrived as strangers and left as something closer to collaborators. Or, at the very least, with a pocket full of business cards and a smile on their face.
Eighteen local business owners gathered at the Hythe Cricket and Squash Club, most of them admittedly a little unsure what they had signed up for. By the time the final bell rang, the conversations showed no signs of stopping.
The afternoon brought together a brilliant mix of independent businesses and community organisations, including Moving Memory Dance Company, Highly Healthy Habits, Holiday Cottage Collection, Voxiferi Studios Podcasting, and many more. Each participant took their seat, pitched their business, listened, asked questions, and then moved on to the next match. Fast, focused, and, as it turned out, genuinely enjoyable.
Fresh cakes sat on the refreshments table. Flyers, notebooks, and business cards covered the green-clothed tables. The room buzzed with the kind of energy you rarely find at a standard networking event. And somewhere among the stacked chairs in the corner, one grey squirrel made a brief but memorable cameo before eventually deciding he had better things to do.
One attendee summed it up: “Business networking events are usually a bit stuffy and boring, this was great fun and very refreshing!”
Among those who attended was Faye Rajab, Director of Amana Home Care Ltd, who said: “I just wanted to thank you for hosting the Business Speed Dating yesterday, we had a brilliant time, and I think the feeling was mutual amongst the others. It really was fantastic, and I do hope you do another again soon.”
Jude Coveney, Admissions Manager at Martello Manor, said: “It is important for us at Martello Manor to be an integral part of our local community, and this event has been a wonderful opportunity to bring people together. We have made some fabulous new friends whom we look forward to working with in the months to come. There are endless opportunities for engagement with Martello Manor, its residents, staff, and friends.”
For Martello Manor, the event is part of a wider ambition to be more than a care home, to be a genuine hub at the heart of Hythe’s community, connecting local people and businesses in ways that benefit everyone, including the home’s residents and their families.
The response from attendees has already prompted the team to consider a follow-up event, with many participants asking when the next one will take place.
