A TOWN centre hair salon unit has been bought by new owners and revamped.

A trio from TOCA Group have taken over the former home of OMG Hair and Beauty on Faringdon Road.

Lesley Williams is managing one of 15 branches the group has around the south of England, serving ladies, gents and children.

The redecoration and rebranding started after the last lockdown's restrictions lifted, with a lot of hard work carried out by the three staff over the summer so that they are now ready to welcome customers inside.

Lesley said: "It was quite difficult because it was a tough year to take over salons. We started from scratch, which is hard to do during a pandemic.

"The group's aim is to have 90 branches around England, growing bit by bit, and every salon has a different manager with an opportunity to make it their own,

Lesley used to own her own business in the Netherlands and has 32 years of experience in the hair and beauty industry. The salon has beauty rooms and she hopes to rent out a chair or room to other stylists who share her passion.

She added: "Hairdressers are one of the top three employees who are happiest in their profession because every day is different, you're working with people who you develop a bond with and

"It's always so rewarding because they come in with a problem and leave feeling better and more beautiful."

While some customers will pop in for a trim, others might wish for a more dramatic change to their look. For them, the staff will provide a free consultation to ensure they talk through what the makeover will be and what would be best.

As a way of saying thank you to key workers, the staff will offer a 15 per cent discount which also applies to students.

"The experience is really important and we want to give clients the best and we are committed to doing that in a nice environment. They won't just rush in and out, they get plenty of attention and go feeling wonderful.

"We want to give Swindon something new in a great location. We just want to make people happy.

"It's not just a haircut, it's about suiting the clients and their personalities because we know how to connect with people and listen to what they want.

"OMG is gone so we are ready to let Swindon know we're here and this is now a new business with new staff and a new way of working."