If you’re one of life’s adrenalin junkies or simply love the great outdoors and the thrill of trying something new, look no further than the adventure packages available from Xclusive Treats.

Set up in November last year www.xclusivetreats.co.uk offers a whole host of luxury gifts and treats, from fashion, home furnishings and food hampers, to beauty spa days, art and now a new children’s department, but it’s the exhilarating range of adventure pursuits that are really capturing the public’s imagination and bringing something a little out of the ordinary to the region.

From group activities, to those for kids and even some intimate outings for loved-up couples, there’s plenty of thrilling excursions to take your fancy. As well as favourites such as hot air ballooning, quad biking, paintballing and clay pigeon shooting, you can also take on more unconventional experiences, such as kite buggying, flying lessons, tandem sky diving, aqua sphering and blokarting.

The activities promise to transport you from the monotony of everyday life to a day packed full of action and excitement and would be great way to inject a little get-up-and-go among work colleagues. In fact, a number of the pursuits are specifically developed for the corporate market, so you can take your team out for the day as a reward for all their hard work and dedication, to boost morale, or to see who the real high-fliers are when the going gets tough.

All of the treats and activities available through www.xclusivetreats.co.uk are sourced from suppliers in and around the North East, so you won’t have too far to travel for your excursions. You can ride some waves with a surfing lesson at Longsands, try out power kiting at Druridge Bay or go quad biking in Thirsk or Northumberland.

You even have the chance to go on an adventure day without it costing you a penny; simply log on to www.xclusivetreats.co.uk and register your details and you could find yourself the lucky winner of May’s competition for a challenging solo four-by-four driving experience.

To find out more about the activities and other treats available, log on to the website at: www.xclusivetreats.co.uk or contact the helpline on 0845 053 3110.

The winner of February’s fantastic Scottish lodge break competition was Nick Imrie.

The competition, featuring a luxury three-night stay at a secluded 5* Perthshire lodge, was the first of many great prize giveaways that will be appearing on Xclusive Treats over the coming months. Check back for regular updates and new competitions.

"I highly recommend the Duchally Cottages - not only are they set in beautiful countryside but inside they are really comfy and of a high standard," said Nick. "It is typical of an innovative company like Xclusive Treats to discover such a hidden gem - thanks again to Louise and her team!"

Our current competition is for a great Tamara Fogle designer handbag worth £155 (RRP) why not try your luck and enter … you never know!

Looking for a gift that’s not only a little bit special, but also easy to find? Want to pamper yourself, your friends or your colleagues? Well look no further than Xclusive Treats.

In an age where many of us struggle to find the time to eat a sandwich for lunch, let alone spare hours trawling the shops for that elusive perfect gift, Xclusive Treats is offering shoppers with aching feet and weary minds a welcome alternative.
The website, www.xclusivetreats.co.uk, was set up by managing director, Louise Milligan, in November last year.

Louise explains: “The initial idea was a one-stop-shop for busy people who didn’t have a lot of time to go shopping and, because it was predominantly aimed at the North East, I wanted to get local suppliers involved, doing everything from luxury gifts to adventure activities and pampering. The business is still a baby but it’s going really well so far.”

As well as many tempting items for special events such as birthdays, engagements, weddings and anniversaries, the website also caters for the likes of hen and stag parties and even has a collection of gifts to help you spoil any pets in your life!

The website offers designer handbags, jewellery and fashion accessories, alongside unique home furnishings, art work, beauty products, flowers and luxury hampers - but that’s merely the start! Xclusive Treats caters for your every desire with adventure days, pampering treatments, luxury breaks, photography and even the old fail-safe option of gift vouchers, which are redeemable against any of the products or services offered on the website, so there’s sure to be something to fulfill the demands of even the most discerning wish-list.

Louise adds: “The website tries to give you different ideas. I think people are starting to move away from traditional wedding gifts, for example; many couples have been living together for so long that they already have everything they need for the home so it might be quite nice for them to receive one of the activities packages.”

There’s also plenty of ideas for brides, grooms, mums-to-be and kids, as well as a host of corporate gift suggestions to help you impress colleagues and keep in the good books of loyal staff. Why not take the team for morale-boosting paintballing, quad-biking or beauty salon sessions, or give them an incentive to keep up the good work with gift voucher bonuses at the end of the month or rewards such as a bottle of Champagne?

Of course, one of the main advantages for customers has to be the fact that all of these great ideas and fantastic gifts are available at the click of a button. Gone are the days of struggling to find parking spaces at busy malls, standing in endless queues and carrying heavy bags - Xclusive Treats offers you the chance to do all of your shopping from the comfort of your home or office.

What’s more, the website allows you to create your own personal wish-list, which friends and family can then access, to ensure you get something you really want for your next birthday. And, if you needed an extra incentive to visit the site, Xclusive Treats will be running monthly competitions with some fantastic prizes to be won; simply register your details to be in with a chance of winning.
What are you waiting for?

Log on to www.xclusivetreats.co.uk for more information and to view the range of gifts available.

Jan 2 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

DAUGHTER of Milligan’s bakery founder Lloyd Milligan, Louise Milligan has recently set up online designer gift store Xclusivetreats. co.uk

Before this she spent four years working in Scotland for a number of financial institutions, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Standard Life.

Although Louise enjoyed her time in Scotland, she admits that she became homesick and, in 2003, felt it was the right time to return to help run the family bakery.

She is now determined to make it on her own and make a success of the new business and can’t think of a better region in which to start up.

She said: "The North-East has developed so much in the last five to ten years, with so much investment going into the area.

"There is now much more advice and guidance available for people who want to come to the region to set up a business.

"For example, I received a grant from Business Link which helped pay for 80% of the cost of setting up my website. I just love the North-East as it has some of the friendliest people in the country.

"I think this is reflected in the business community, with firms really looking out for each other, something that I feel is lacking in some areas."

Chris Knox, The Journal

THE daughter of the founder of one of the region’s biggest bakery firms has launched an on-line designer gift store to prove she can run her own business.

Louise Milligan, daughter of Milligan’s bakery founder Lloyd Milligan, left her job as operations manager at the family-run firm to launch Xclusivetreats.co.uk

The website provides a one-stop shop for small boutique firms to sell their designer gifts and adventure experiences, with Louise hoping to more than treble its size by next year.

She said: “I got the impression while working at Milligan’s that people thought I was relying on my family name in order to get ahead and were not recognising the hard work I was putting in. That’s why I wanted to prove that I could run a business on my own terms, without any help from my family.”
The website has already attracted 38 suppliers and Louise hopes to increase this by more than 100 in the New Year and to establish a dedicated sales team.

The majority of adventure experience firms featured on the site are based in the North-East, including Northumbria Flying School and Durham’s Skydive Academy, which provide Louise with a commission for every sale.

Louise graduated from Napier University in Edinburgh in 1999 where she studied business studies before taking up a number of positions in the Scottish capital at the Royal Bank of Scotland, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Standard Life.

After travelling Europe and Australia, she returned to the North-East to join Milligan’s in 2003. While at the company, Louise completed a post-graduate degree in Human Resources Management at Northumbria University, which she used to introduce new HR procedures at the bakery.

“I was able to draw on the advice of my dad and a number of his friends but was clear that I wanted it to be my business, using my money. It is true that my family name has helped me attract so many suppliers to the site in such a short space of time, but I hope to expand the business by myself,” she said.

Louise believes the gift experience side of the business will help it grow quickly and that it represents a relatively new market in the North-East.

“It is true that there are competitors in the market such as Red Letter Days, but their activities tend to ignore the North-East area. I hope to use the excellent facilities in the region to grow the business and provide customers with access to exciting gifts”, she said.