Cathy Hayward, Magenta’s founder and chairman, was last week presented with the Freedom of the City of London at a ceremony at the Guildhall. Cathy is a member of the Pattenmakers livery company.
She was nominated by David Sharp, founder and CEO of International Workplace and FM Guru Martin Pickard who accompanied her to the ceremony. The parchment document was presented by Murray Craig, clerk to the Chamberlain’s Court.
One of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence today, the Freedom is believed to have been first presented in 1237. Now largely ceremonial, the Freedom was the right to trade, enabling members of a guild or livery to carry out their trade or craft in the Square Mile. A fee or fine would be charged and in return the livery companies would ensure that the goods and services provided would be of the highest possible standards.
