A pre let on a new development at Westcott Venture Park in Buckinghamshire has been agreed to garden room company Green Retreats, which will significantly increase its floorspace at the Park.
Owner, PATRIZIA Hanover Property Unit Trust achieved planning permission from Buckinghamshire Council in November 2021 for a new 120,000 sq ft development of Grade A factory and production space, set on 7.5 acres at its 650-acre business park which is located mid-way between Aylesbury and Bicester.
The development known as Building 6000 will include a first phase of 65,000 sq ft of accommodation with Green Retreats committing to a 10-year lease. Construction on the first phase of development started in January 2022 with completion set for July 2022.
PATRIZIA Hanover Property Unit Trust will invest approximately £6 million in this development and Green Retreats will invest a further £1 million which will accommodate growth for a further 250 jobs.
Green Retreats is the largest, leading and most trusted garden room company in the UK and has architectural guru and television presenter Kevin McCloud as brand ambassador.
The company, which specialises in the design and manufacture of inspirational garden rooms, was established in 2005 and has been based at Westcott for the last eight years.
Green Retreats occupies a total of 50,000 sq ft of space across Hangar 4, Building 2010, a state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor showroom, and Unit 11/12 within the Century Court development which houses not only the Green Retreats brand but also The Garden Studio, The Garden Office, The Annex and Home Power Electrical Services Limited brands.
The rapidly growing company is constantly evolving and has designed and installed over 13,000 garden rooms for its customers. They produce garden rooms, offices and studios on a large scale whilst remaining sustainable and environmentally friendly. Great customer and after-care services is at the forefront of everything they do.
The company currently employs 330 staff, and this new facility will enable Green Retreats to scale this up to 580 employees and will provide the additional capacity to increase turnover from £35million to £55 million for Phase 1 of the development.
Green Retreats managing director, Roy Wetherall said: “We have enjoyed significant growth and our new facility will provide us with the space to expand in order to realise our full potential. Our company is now in great shape to exploit significant market opportunities this year and beyond.
“One of the reasons we chose to base the business at Westcott was because of the room for expansion, we have expanded three or four times and each time the Park has been able to accommodate our growth.
“It’s also a highly secure site and our customers enjoy the experience of coming to Westcott to visit our showroom. As a carbon neutral business, we value the benefits of the solar park and we work with many service businesses on the Park. We feel good about the future and being part of the Westcott family of companies.”
Rod Mordey, asset manager at Westcott Venture Park said: “This is a major development for us at Westcott which has allowed Green Retreats to remain at the Park. The expansion of Green Retreats is truly impressive, and we are delighted to have been able to accommodate their ongoing growth.
“We continue with our ambitious development plans, investing in the Park’s future in order to retain and attract more businesses to this thriving community.”
This follows on from the recent letting of Units A and B of 15,750 sq ft at the newly developed high-tech Building 4000 which will be home to a new In-Orbit Space Manufacturing Facility and a Healthy Living Laboratory. The final letting of 11,250 sq ft at Unit C Building 4000 will soon be announced.
Westcott Venture Park is now home to over 80 businesses, the Westcott Space Cluster and the National Space Propulsion Test Facility and is managed by Lambert Smith Hampton.
