Home House founder, the notorious Elizabeth, Countess of Home, had a vision in 1775 to build a sophisticated ‘Pavilion’ for the purpose of enjoyment and entertainment. Fast forward over nearly two and a half centuries and we think she’d be proud of today’s Ladies of the House – each of them independent, passionate and fun, and all with a story to tell.

Home House is one of London’s most exclusive and unique private members’ clubs, located in three restored Grade I and II listed Georgian townhouses on Portman Square. The Club’s Ladies of the House events attract a fantastic group each month and, at Banbury Howard, we have the pleasure of leading the proceedings; interviewing these wonderful ladies to find out more about what they’ve achieved and what they’re aiming for next.

In the second Ladies at the House event, we interviewed social entrepreneur and property developer, Charlotte Grobien.

Charlotte’s career as a social entrepreneur started after she sold her successful conference organising business in the late 1980s and began working with teen mentoring project – Young Enterprise.

In 2006, during the renovations of their own home, Charlotte and her husband, Henning, discovered a passion for property development out of which Give It Away, Charlotte’s philanthropic property development company, was born.

While developers aren’t usually known for ‘giving away’ their profits, that’s exactly the model for Give It Away. To date, Charlotte has built, bought or renovated 12 houses and has donated all profits – a massive £1.7 million – to charities helping children and teenagers. Charlotte is set to continue her good work and plans to have donated £2 million to charity within the course of her next two projects.

Independent, passionate and fun, Charlotte truly is an inspiration to us all.