A fast-growing home improvements company is aiming to create 50 new jobs thanks to the success of TV programmes like Grand Designs.<\/p>\n
Ambitious Peninsula Home Improvements, based in Gaerwen, on Anglesey, have already taken on two staff in Cheshire where they are planning to open a second showroom as part of their expansion.<\/p>\n
The company is reaping the reward for its decision to specialise in high-end glazing products like the ones frequently featured in television makeover shows like Grand Designs.<\/p>\n
As a result, the firm which currently employs over 30 people is on course to double its turnover to \u00a34 million in just two years.<\/p>\n
Peninsula has signed an agreement with Solarlux, the top German manufacturer of glass houses, sliding folding doors and high spec \u2018Wintergarden\u2019 conservatories who helped transform the famous Yankee Stadium in New York.<\/p>\n
The company has been Solarlux’s approved dealers for North Wales for more than four years, and are now looking to expand into parts of Cheshire and Merseyside.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Ken Grayson revealed there was a huge amount of interest and they’ve already made the first UK sale of a brand new Solarlux product, the Acubis glass house which can be an extension to a customer\u2019s house or a stand-alone structure in the garden.<\/p>\n
Another partnership that\u2019s working well, according to Mr Grayson, is one with the Fron Goch Garden Centre on the outskirts of Caernarfon.<\/p>\n
A Solarlux glass house has been erected inside the garden centre while some of Fron Goch\u2019s furniture and soft furnishings are on display at the Peninsula showroom.<\/p>\n
Mr Grayson explained: \u201cWe approached Fron Goch because we recognised that they are a long-established family company like ourselves, sharing similar values and like us servicing the quality end of the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe standard of everything at Fron Goch is top notch which fits in with our products and our offering to our customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Solarlux glass house that\u2019s on display has been beautifully furnished by Fron Goch and looks stunning, it\u2019s like something out of a magazine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSolarlux specialise in glass houses and bi-folding doors, including the single-glazed glass structures like the one here which is essentially a covered patio<\/p>\n
\u201cThis enables people to create outdoor lifestyles all year around, having barbeques outside in the winter if they choose to and it\u2019s basically protection from the elements which is a desirable thing in our climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing German, they are very well engineered and they are designed for specific post code areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir engineers work out all the calculations for it, for snow loadings, for wind. They\u2019re hurricane proof.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to stress the glass houses are not conservatories, although Solarlux also make fully insulated systems as well. The glass houses are about all-year-round outdoor living.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe\u2019re seeing increasing demand for high-end products like Solarlux and a Scandinavian range called Nordan, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrand Designs has been a game changer because people\u2019s aspirations are a lot higher than they\u2019ve ever been.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople watch Grand Designs and aspire to that sort of living, and our high-end products are the perfect solution because they also have a long life expectancy.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomers realise that if you pay more, you get more \u2013 and it puts value on the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more like an investment in your home because it\u2019s just moving money from a current account where it\u2019s earning no interest and putting it on the value of the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am particularly pleased that Peninsula has achieved the first ever sale of the new Acubis in the whole of the UK, it\u2019s quite a feather in our cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came about because the customer saw the glass house at Fron Goch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Acubis is very cutting edge in design and attaches to a house but also has a stand-alone model which you can put at the bottom of the garden. It\u2019s very Grand Designs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we still service the uPVC market, it is the high-end products that are driving our growth along with the service back-up that the clients expect.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of turnover we\u2019re on target for \u00a34 million this year, from \u00a32 million a couple of years ago, and we\u2019re expanding into Cheshire where we have appointed two directors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are planning a new showroom over there and we are in the process of identifying the best site.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur high-end products are perfect for Cheshire, particularly affluent places like Nantwich, Tarporley and Tattenhall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking to the Welsh Government about development grants to help fund our expansion because of the potential for employment.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was music to the ears of Justin Williams, the managing director of the Fron Goch Garden Centre.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis partnership is great for both of us. We have the same type of customers because we\u2019re supplying similar levels of service, standard and product. There is a great synergy that\u2019s going to benefit both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n