About Swift & Hale
Peggy Swift and Martin Hale opened a shop in Dorchester in 1973 to sell boots and tents and to hire kit to schools. We now have 128 shops in Britain and Ireland, and they still do all three.
How it started
Peggy Swift was a PE teacher who ran walking trips for her school. Martin Hale made tents and mended them. Their first shop sold boots and tents, and hired kit to schools that could not buy it for a whole class.
Both founders have died, and their family trusts still hold shares in the company. Our head office, Hale House, is on Fordington Fields in Dorchester, and the Dorchester shop is one of our 18 larger shops, with a fitting room, a hire counter and a repair bench.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1973 | The first shop opens in Dorchester |
| 2011 | Nine shops in Scotland join us when we buy Bothy Outdoor |
| 2014 | Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange |
| 2019 | Tom Penhallow, who started as a Saturday boot fitter in our Exeter shop in 1994, becomes chief executive |
| 2025 | Every shop and online order is supplied from one stock pool at Huntworth, in Somerset |
What our shops do
Most of our shops are in market towns close to national parks and long-distance trails, from Keswick and Hathersage to Betws-y-Coed, Fort William and Galway. There are 116 in England, Scotland and Wales and 12 in the Republic of Ireland. In the year to January 2026 we opened six, including Oban and Westport.
Every shop fits walking boots, and 1,100 of our colleagues are trained boot fitters. Bring the socks you walk in and take your time. Many shops do more:
- Repair benches in 41 shops mend zips, seams, tent poles and buckles. Shops without a bench send repairs to the nearest one. See repairs.
- Hire counters in 52 shops rent out tents, rucksacks, sleeping bags and stoves to families, schools and youth groups. See hire.
- More than 3,000 led walks a year start from our shop doors, free for Club members.
You can also buy from us online, in our app and from the printed catalogue we send out twice a year. Order online and collect from any shop, often within the hour if the shop has it in stock, and shop colleagues can order anything we hold at Huntworth for you. Find a shop.
Our own kit
About 61% of what we sell is our own. Hale is the durable range: waterproofs, boots, packs and family tents. We repair Hale waterproofs and packs free for as long as you own them. Swift is the lightweight range for backpacking and faster trips. The rest comes from other makers, listed on our brands page.
Our product team designs the kit at Hale House and tests it on Dartmoor. A Trail Panel of about 3,000 Club members tries new ranges before we order them, and every colleague gets two test days a year to take new kit on the hill. Feedback from those test days changed the hip belt on the Hale 45-litre pack for Spring Summer 2026, because the old one rubbed on long days.
Who we are now
We employ 3,900 people: 3,300 in our shops, 300 at the Huntworth distribution centre and 300 at Hale House. Everyone is paid at least the real Living Wage. If you would like to join them, see careers.
Swift & Hale plc has been listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange since 2014. Helen Ashdown chairs the board and Tom Penhallow is chief executive. Read about our board or visit the investors section.
Read our annual report
Our Annual Report and Accounts 2026 covers the 52 weeks to 31 January 2026. In that year our sales were £418.6 million and our repair benches mended 48,000 items.
Our sustainability page sums up the report's section on materials, repairs, carbon and the Path Fund.
Contact us
Swift & Hale plc, Hale House, Fordington Fields, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 9SH. Registered in England and Wales, company number 01234567.
- Customer services: 01632 960 123
- Press office: 01632 960 789
- Investor relations: 01632 960 457
Swift & Hale plc is a fictional company created by CHS for demonstration. About this demo.