Wealden Times | WT200 | October 2018 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Above: In the study the white, gold and blue theme continues, with
the emphasis switched to the darker colour
is in corporate IT, but when she had her daughter, Bella, almost
ten years ago, she decided to go into the family business.
The Malins Group was founded by her father Malcom
Atkins back in the early 1970s. Back then – and really
until very recently – the industry was very much run by
men. Lauren’s first job was to sell – and make a profit
on – some properties that were proving hard to move.
Building a workforce of mainly part-time working mothers,
she managed to turn the project around and they sold them all.
“At the time it was very unusual to offer part-time flexible office
hours,” she explains. “And there were very few women in the
industry. I make sure that everyone has a part to play and it’s
very fluid, so the whole team gets involved at certain times.”
Lauren’s enlightened approach in this very fast-moving sector
has paid off. She is now the managing director of the company
– and a finalist in the Businesswoman of the Year awards. In
keeping with her philosophy of supporting and encouraging
women in business, she is also a patron of Aurora New Dawn,
a charity dedicated to ending violence against women.
Under her care, the company is fostering a unique and
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