Simon is top of the tree

He launched Twiga, his new company, which designs super treehouses for the mega-rich at this morning's opening of the annual Royal Horticultural Society's Flower Show at Tatton Park, Knutsford.

On show was a £25,000 version, which with promotion girls, attracted the show crowds - although his treehouses start at £10,000 and range up to "the sky's the limit".

The structures, on stilts elevated from the ground and built around tree trunks, can be fully powered and plumbed and designed to include home offices, relaxation spaces, outdoor dining and entertainment areas, steam rooms and even spa baths.

This time Mr Aldrich has teamed up with his brother, Marcus, a former North Yorkshire motorcycle policeman to form Twiga.

The showhouse is a 30sq metre two-storey living space, made of wood, metal and glass and its three rooms include a home office, LCD screens and a 20ft elevated deck. It attracted enough fascination for him to predict more than £1 million in sales in its first year.

A former soldier, Mr Aldrich harnessed his understanding of the yearning of foods from home when abroad into expatshopping.com, which serves British embassies and expatriates throughout the world and has established all British goods stores in Europe. Its main warehouse is in Osbaldwick.

He said: "As an entrepreneur I know more than most that our life balance choices are changing and people want to make the most of their leisure times and their homes - and that is what Twiga is all about. We are building contemporary retreats for people who want to invest in their property and their lifestyle."

Twiga designs, builds and finishes the tree houses in a range of colours, textures and materials ranging from natural wood and metal to carbon fibre and glass. Planning permissions, if needed, are managed by the company which can design and build a working tree house in about four weeks.

Updated: 09:57 Wednesday, July 21, 2004