Help to Buy

I worked for Hugh Hefner at country club restaurant-Sales advisor at Buckingham housebuilder reveals star-studded past

- 01 Nov 18

An inspiring sales advisor at a Buckinghamshire house builder has shone a light on her varied career – having worked for celebrities including late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Jane Carden-Maund, who works at Bovis Homes’ Nightingale Fold location in Steeple Claydon, said she would not change her career path for the world and even organised a 21st birthday party for John Cleese’s daughter.

Jane, from Towcester, worked as an assistant restaurant manager at American Playboy executive Victor Lownes-owned Stocks Country Club in Tring, after starting there as a waitress, aged 20.

She said: “There was never a dull moment at Stocks. I worked hard and progressed from waitress to assistant manager and oversaw many celebrity get-togethers, and this experience has helped later in my career.

“I went up in a helicopter with Anneka Rice and I was part of a team that organised John Cleese’s daughter’s birthday – a private disco in an orangery!”

On top of that, Jane was given the role of looking after Stocks Country Club weekend guest, American actor and singer David Cassidy, one of her lifetime role models.

But after three years working at the country club, known for parties held by Lownes and Hefner, Jane left the business to start a family.

The mother-of-two’s current role is the result of being spotted working as a cleaner at show homes after getting back into the jobs market. She was told she could thrive in a sales team.

Jane said the customer-relations skills she developed in the restaurant trade were transferrable to the housing industry, and she has loved every minute of working for Bovis Homes.

“Bovis Homes is a brilliant place to work,” she said. “I’d work for this housebuilder any day as it treats its staff well and has a strong family ethos.”

Jane, who has worked at Nightingale Fold since May, said home buyers moved to the location for its countryside charm.

She added Steeple Claydon was a tight-knit, family-orientated village, that held regular fetes and other community events. It benefits from a “fantastic” GP surgery, The Swan Practice, and Steeple Claydon School, which is located behind the location.

Nightingale Fold has four and five-bedroom homes available to buy, including the Ascot house type show home. Purchasing schemes Help to Buy and Smooth Move are proving popular at the development.

With the Help to Buy - Equity Loan scheme, home buyers need just a five per cent cash deposit, with the Government providing an equity loan of up to 20 per cent. They then need to secure up to a 75 per cent mortgage, which opens the door to more competitive lending rates.

Those using Smooth Move get support from Bovis Homes throughout the process, with the housebuilder working to find movers the right buyer and paying estate agent fees.