WHEN they found an Omega watch listed on Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of its value two savvy local entrepreneurs came up with an impressive business plan.

Childhood friends Martyn Kandrotas and Max Hayes-Allen - from New Lodge and Penistone respectively - have always wanted to start their own business.

However, like many hopeful businesspeople, they faced their share of difficulties trying to get off the ground.

Martyn told the Chronicle: “We could never really find something to work.

“But Max’s always been into his watches, so we just thought we’d have a look around.

“We went onto Facebook and the first thing we saw was this watch - we each invested £300 to buy it and made £1,000 profit on the sale.

“So it’s really gone from there - at first it was just a hobby but it’s really grown.”

Offering luxury watches at competitive prices, as well as sourcing and refurbishing watches, the pair managed to open their own shop at the Business Village in Gawber a few months back.

Now their company Timepiece Epicurean is reaching new heights, with the pair now having passed the £500,000 revenue mark.

“It’s been going really well,” Martyn added.

“We just want to keep going now really - it should be growing, and over time and we want to reach £1m this year.

“We also want to expand with a central office - we deal nationwide already but want to get more into Barnsley and offer locals our unique approach.”