A PREMIUM watch brand set up by a woman from Chelmsford is succeeding abroad after bursting on to the UK fashion scene.

Lesa Bennett set up Olivia Burton in 2011 with fellow London College of Fashion graduate Jemma Fennings from London.

Their distinctive watches are stocked in top retailers such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Liberty.

In the last two years, the pair have seen their company go global.

They now sell in 11 countries, including through the huge US retailer Anthropologie.

The last two years have seen the company’s overseas sales rise from £60,000 to £500,000.

Lesa and Jemma put their overseas success down to the support they’ve received from the Government’s UK Trade and Investment export support organisation, which Lesa first got in touch with in 2012 following a recommendation from a colleague.

She said: “Our products have universal appeal, but only a very small percentage of our sales were coming from overseas.

“Neither of us had export experience and we realised we needed some help if we were to grow our business internationally.”

Working with UK Trade and Investment has allowed the company to take part in workshops and trade programmes, enabling the entrepreneurs to make contacts with traders from places such as the Far East.

Lesa added: “We found the workshops extremely useful, particularly the discussions on routes to market and distributors, as well the importance of forming a strategy for international expansion.”