SAPPHIRE Holidays, the Cornwall-based group of self-catering holiday letting agencies, has announced a £2-million investment in new offices at Hayle to cater for further growth.
The group, which includes Aspects Holidays, Boutique Retreats, Classic Cottages and Unique Hideaways, employs more than 185 people, mostly in Cornwall. It collectively manages 2,650 holiday letting properties across the UK.
It has acquired a former industrial building on Hayle Business Park and is transforming it into a high-tech, low-carbon office for its growing team. The new development, which is scheduled to be completed around Easter 2025, complements their neighbouring Sapphire House which the group built in 2020 as a home for its Aspects Holidays employees.
Simon Tregoning, owner and chairman of Sapphire Holidays, said: “With this repurposed building we'll be able to consolidate all our teams on one site and cater for the future growth of the business. We wanted to reuse an existing unit because sustainability is very important to us, so it's been designed to rigorous energy efficiency standards.”
The former Orion Precision Castings building started life as an engineering forge and was later used by a tree surgery business. Now it is being recycled into a modern energy efficient office that will mainly cater for staff from Classic Cottages and Boutique Retreats.
The building has already been stripped back to bare bones leaving all the original steelwork and concrete footprint of the original building. Care is being taken throughout the project to ensure the reuse of materials on site and the supply of new materials used in the construction are being sourced locally where possible.
Six bore holes each around 150m deep have been drilled to provide for ground source heating, and the roof will have a 132-panel solar array generating around 54,000kWh annually of electricity, enough for 20 average UK households.
This energy will be used to charge a bank of batteries which in turn will provide power for around eight new electric car charging bays in the 54-space car park. Surplus energy will be sold back to the National Grid. Outside, planting has been carefully curated with a wildflower meadow to attract pollinating insects and other wildlife, enhancing biodiversity in the area.
Site design has also ensured the retention of existing trees and scope for further planting. Inside, the office will have a 543 sq m ground floor and a 357 sq m mezzanine level, with space for 64 work stations. Apart from a small extension at the rear, the building will retain its current dimensions. Around 40+ staff will occupy the new offices initially, allowing plenty of space for future recruitment.
The new office has been designed by Truro-based KAST Architects and the build is being managed by Ian Cavley of IC Building Consultancy.