{"id":634638,"date":"2025-12-15T20:44:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/634638\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T20:44:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:44:17","slug":"manchesters-best-christmas-do-boss-books-out-citys-busiest-bar-again-for-staff-and-gives-out-thousands-in-prizes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/634638\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester’s best Christmas do? Boss books out city’s busiest bar AGAIN for staff and gives out thousands in prizes"},"content":{"rendered":"

“We work hard all year serving customers brilliantly so it\u2019s only fair that we celebrate hard too!\u201d<\/p>\n

16:24, 15 Dec 2025Updated 17:26, 15 Dec 2025<\/p>\n

AO’s Christmas do saw company boss John Roberts hand out big cash prizes to stunned staff – including Marie James (pictured)(Image: AO)<\/p>\n

The owner of Bolton’s electrical giant AO is being billed “Britain’s best boss” after handing out thousands of pounds worth of prizes at an all-expenses paid Christmas<\/a> do for 700 staff. AO boss John Roberts booked out Manchester’s busiest bar AGAIN this December to treat staff at their big festive knees up.<\/p>\n

It’s only the second time ever that Albert’s Schloss on Peter Street has closed for a private function on a Saturday in December – the first time being for AO’s Christmas bash last year.<\/p>\n

While many companies have been tightening their belts in 2025, AO founder Roberts decided to do the opposite – by pulling out all the stops at the annual Christmas do for staff.<\/p>\n

Having booked out the entire venue for 700 staff, he then surprised them with a night of cabaret, live bands, DJs, unlimited food and drink – and more than \u00a320,000 worth of cash and tech prizes handed out on stage. Roberts’ huge gesture sparked debate online about whether he might well be \u2018Britain\u2019s best boss\u2019.<\/p>\n

Angela gets a hug from AO boss John Roberts after winning the \u00a37,000 jackpot(Image: AO)<\/p>\n

The biggest winner at Saturday night’s bash was Angela Axon, who works in AO\u2019s Bolton-based contact centre. She won the jackpot of \u00a37,000 and said: \u201cI\u2019m over the moon\u2026 I still can\u2019t quite believe it!<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m becoming a grandma for the first time in April so I think I\u2019m going to get myself a new car so that I can drive my new grandchild around, along with my 86-year-old dad who\u2019s getting a bit wobbly on his feet and struggling to get to his appointments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy current car is almost 20 years old and even has its own paddling pool in the back footwell, so it\u2019ll be lovely to be able to get that sorted.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second prize of \u00a35,000 went to James Pointon, who works in AO\u2019s Crewe warehouse and plans to put the huge sum towards a dream trip to the Caribbean with his wife.<\/p>\n

James from Crewe was also a big winner at the AO Christmas do(Image: AO)<\/p>\n

The final jackpot winner was Marie James, commercial business partner at AO\u2019s Bolton<\/a> head office. She won \u00a32,500 and said: \u201cI\u2019m at the late stages of my maternity leave, just thinking about a phased return to work, so I can\u2019t believe this!<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing handed \u00a32,500 with a brand-new baby and just weeks before Christmas feels unreal! The AO Christmas party is always a night to remember, but it definitely made this year\u2019s extra special!\u201d<\/p>\n

Other prizes included an all expenses paid hospitality suite for the winner and 15 friends at the AO arena, an iPhone 17, and AO teddy bears, all drawn at random in front of 700 cheering colleagues.<\/p>\n

The annual AO Christmas Party has now gained a reputation as one of the most generous and spectacular corporate celebrations in the UK for the last two decades. When videos went viral of last year’s wild celebrations at Albert’s Schloss, comments included: “Any jobs going?” and “Quitting and starting here”.<\/p>\n

Best Christmas do ever? 700 staff partied at Albert’s Schloss(Image: AO)<\/p>\n

Roberts, who built AO from a \u00a31 bet with a friend into the UK\u2019s most trusted electricals retailer, said: “Our people create the magic for our customers all year and this is our way of saying thank you with an incredible party and a special night they\u2019ll never forget. It\u2019s the best investment we make all year!”<\/p>\n

“We work hard all year serving customers brilliantly so it\u2019s only fair that we celebrate hard too!\u201d<\/p>\n

The party comes as AO continues a strong year of growth, expanding its product ranges, acquiring musicMagpie and strengthening its position as one of the UK\u2019s biggest electricals retailers. The company has seen ten consecutive profit upgrades, growing customer numbers, record Trustpilot ratings and sustained momentum across the group, underlining what Roberts describes as \u201cthe most exciting chapter yet\u201d for the Bolton-based firm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“We work hard all year serving customers brilliantly so it\u2019s only fair that we celebrate hard too!\u201d 16:24,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[21149,279,748,2508,35745,393,4884,22137,2465,8086,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-634638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-ao-arena","9":"tag-bolton","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-cheshire","12":"tag-christmas","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-happy-news","16":"tag-manchester","17":"tag-manchester-city-centre","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115725538661568131","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}