It's the fledging family business which has transformed both a 1980s tuk tuk and a beaten up old horsebox into beautiful mobile bars perfect for parties.
Clink and Drink Mobile Bars is the brainchild of Katie Hounsham, who graduated from university in 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic and decided to launch her own business, aged just 22.
Having taken on her first job in hospitality at the tender age of just 14, Katie had always loved the idea of running her own pop-up bar one day and got to work on making it a reality as soon as she left university.
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She told the Daily Echo: "I found a slightly beaten, yet pre-loved horse trailer on Facebook Marketplace. It took very little persuasion to get ‘Director of Operations’ (aka Dad) on board, and together we got to work converting our first mobile bar.
"Since then, the fleet has grown to include our vintage Italian tuk tuk bar and our brand new elegant wooden bar! Our team has also grown and we have the best bunch of experienced, passionate and absolutely lovely bartenders."
Previously working Monday to Friday in London and running the business on weekends and evenings only, Katie quit her corporate job last April to concentrate all her time on expanding Clink & Drink Mobile Bars with 100 weddings, parties and corporate events across the county under her belt already.
Having converted a 1980s tuk tuk into a quirky bar and built a wooden bar, the firm has just won the award for best mobile bar in Hampshire 2024 at the prestigious Hitched Wedding Award, which are presented to UK businesses who have been highly rated and recommended by couples, honouring vendors for their professionalism, quality of work, flexibility and customer service.
Having benefitted from a £5,000 business growth grant from her former university UWE in Bristol and about to embark on the Southampton Solent University 'help to grow' business development course, Katie is excited to see what 2024 brings.
Katie is also co-founder of YES Hampshire (Young Enterprise Society, Hampshire) which runs workshops to inspire young people to launch their own businesses.
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