A flurry of activity at fashion label Simultan has seen the company move to bigger premises and part company with one of its co-founders.

The Brighton-based label has swapped its modest shop on the edge of North Laine for a three-storey listed building in Ship Street.

Co-founder Amanda Sullivan has left the company to launch her own boutique, called Sirene, at Simultan's former Trafalgar Street premises.

The company is now run by co-founders Sarah Arnett, the label's chief designer, and former marketeer Simon Beales.

The pair are preparing to reopen the Simultan shop on the ground floor of the Ship Street building on Friday, October 1.

The second floor will double as a design and manufacturing studio while the third floor will be converted into the company's administrative offices.

The move to a more central location caps a remarkable two years for Simultan, which is developing a thriving wholesale operation.

The label secured its first international stockist at Legacy in New York's trendy SoHo district earlier this year and is now targeting the lucrative Japanese market.

Its creations also sell in the famous Liberty department store in London.

Simon, 39, said: "The move means we have a really grown-up headquarters in the middle of Brighton and plenty of space to expand.

"Trafalgar Street was great for us and people went out of their way to find us but we felt we needed a more central location.

"A lot of people had heard of Simultan without knowing where we were based.

"This should give us a lot more passing tourist and conference trade."

The building was formerly occupied by designer Martin Kidman who dressed a host of celebrities, including supermodel Helena Christensen, actress Goldie Hawn and presenter Cat Deeley.

The old Simultan boutique in Trafalgar Street sold the complete collection alongside well-known designers like LK Bennett to bolster sales.

But with gushing media coverage in glossy magazines like Elle and InStyle the Simultan label will now take precedence. In the past year the label, which includes dresses, accessories, handbags and artwork, accounted for 70 per cent of the company's sales.

Sarah, 36, said: "Being stocked in Legacy and Liberty has given me much more confidence about the label and the image I want to create."

Wednesday September 22, 2004