Pictured above: Monteith Scott PLAY celebrates its first anniversary at one of its recent projects - Birmingham's Pitcher & Piano bar. (from left) are John Millington, technical director, Alison Monteith, managing director, Gordon Thompson, director, and Derek Matthews, design director

A clever combination of work and play has been the secret of success for a West Midlands architectural interior design company which has celebrated a year in which it has completed many major projects for some of the UK's leading leisure brands.

Monteith Scott directors were joined by more than 50 property professionals to mark the first anniversary of the launch of its PLAY division, led by retail and leisure interior design specialist Gordon Thompson.

Award-winning Monteith Scott WORK - which delivers interior design solutions in the industrial, education and office sectors - is led by managing director Alison Monteith, design director Derek Matthews and technical director John Millington.

The company, based in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, has gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months since Gordon joined as an associate and launched Monteith Scott PLAY.

In the last year it has worked alongside Marston's to redesign and rejuvenate several of its top venues, including Bluu in Manchester and Pitcher & Piano in Bristol, and iNTERTAIN's Walkabout Bar in Blackpool. The anniversary event was staged at Birmingham's Pitcher & Piano bar - a venue also recently imaginatively transformed by Gordon and his team.

Gordon said: "It has been a remarkable year in many ways since the formation of Monteith Scott PLAY. We were always confident that we would be successful and therefore we are not at all surprised at the high level of new business we have secured. We are working with some of the UK's leading leisure brands and we have formed very strong partnerships that will serve us well for years to come.

"Some of the venues we have transformed are reporting enormous increases in food and bar trade which is very satisfying for us and represents a very healthy return on investment for our clients. Looking to the future, we have many more exciting projects in the pipeline. This is only the start for Monteith Scott PLAY."

Alison said: "It's been an exciting and very rewarding year since the launch of Monteith Scott PLAY and I would like to congratulate Gordon on all he has achieved in this first year of business. We developed the new company specifically to design and deliver interiors for the leisure sector and many of the projects completed to date have been spectacular successes.

"These include projects for some of the UK's leading leisure brands, including Marston's, Pitcher & Piano and Walkabout. Gordon is a major asset to our clients and our business. His 24 years of unbeatable leisure industry experience is proving irresistible to the sector."