Hello from Tradelinens

A textile man through and through,
Robert Lancaster-Gaye is the man
whose friends will always thank him
for teaching them the true meaning
of mitred corners and the vagaries
of thread count. More importantly,
he is known in the industry as
the go-to person for making sure
luxury hotels up and down the
country can boast the best bed,
towelling and table linen.
Rewind 45 years, and, when the
Managing Director of FB Lecky
(eventually part of the Mitre Group)
came to Robert’s school looking
for a protégé, Robert chose to go
out into the real world and flex his
business muscles rather than study
architecture at university.
From a grounding in wholesale
textiles in a small London
warehouse to running the UK
operation of Ewart Liddell (part
of Coats Viyella), Robert counts
his blessings that he truly
understands the journey from
thread to bed. Launching the UK
market for Frette back in 1990 was
the start of a partnership which still
continues to this day in some of
London’s finest hotels.
30 years ago Robert met Joe
Molloy who heralded from Belfast,
a city made famous very many
years ago as being home to the
finest linen manufacturers in the
world and so their partnership
started.
Their shared vision and exacting
standards meant that their linen
has graced the bedrooms and
restaurants of the world’s finest
hotels for the past quarter of a
century.
Turns out that a flair for art and
numbers not only gives you the
potential to study architecture;
mixing creativity with business
acumen can also put you on the
road to a passion for textiles, an
expertise in hotel furnishings, an
obsession with detail and quality,
and a chance to mix with some
incredibly interesting people
in the hospitality industry.