Riders moves into Falmouth Business Park

Published Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Posted by Nick Eyriey
Editorial director Nick Eyriey is an experienced and respected journalist having spent some 20 years in the local and national press working with newspapers such as The Yorkshire Post, Today, The Sun, and the Mail on Sunday.

The South West car dealership group, Riders Garages Group, has motored into one of the Priority Sites units on the Falmouth Business Park on Bickland Water Road.

The company has relocated its head office from Falmouth Marina having purchased 2,507 sq ft of office space on the energy-efficient business park.

A further unit offering 950 sq ft of space has also been leased to Common Purpose, a not-for-profit organisation specialising in leadership development and training.

For Riders, which has nine branches throughout Devon and Cornwall, the new location has enabled the head office to expand and establish a training and meeting room as well as provide modern office accommodation.

Jeremy Phillips, Riders Group Marketing Manager explained: “We’d been searching for more accommodation for quite some time before we decided on the Falmouth Business Park. The green credentials of the new offices were a big plus point together with the easy-to-reach location and the car parking provision. As a company that was founded in Falmouth in 1869 it is great to be able to remain in the town and have modern accommodation that suits our needs.”

The 24,000 sq ft of accommodation on the Falmouth Business Park incorporates a number of energy efficient features that are normally only associated with larger commercial developments.

These include ground source heat pumps in six of the units, which transfer solar energy stored in the ground to heat the buildings, and a rainwater harvesting system that captures roof water for flushing the toilets.

As a result the units have secured a ‘B’ rating on the new Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) scheme with a score that is well above the benchmark figure for new offices of this type.

Robert McGuffie, Priority Sites’ development manager added: “We’re delighted to see a Falmouth company benefiting from a move onto the Business Park as it emphasizes why there has been a need to provide high quality modern office space in the area.

“Together with Common Purpose moving from Camborne to take a lease on a neighbouring unit, it is great to see increasing activity on the site. We are still receiving a significant level of enquiries for the remaining offices, which is pleasing in the current climate.”