Fast-growing holiday rental firm signs up for One City Place
Chester-based holiday rental company Sykes Cottages has signed up for landmark commercial development as part of an expansion plan.
The company, which claims to be the UK’s largest independent operator of UK holiday rental properties, has confirmed its relocation to One City Place – the flagship office scheme by Muse Developments in partnership with Cheshire West & Chester Council.
The fast-growing firm, which has been based in Chester for more than 25 years, said the new location was a key part of its ongoing investment strategy to support its expansion.
One City Place is the first office building, which forms part of the wider £120m, 3.5-acre City Place development – the focal point of the city’s new Central Business Quarter.
Ultimately City Place will provide over 500,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation, including retail and leisure facilities, as well as 200 residential units and new public realm, when it completes in 2028.
Sykes has signed a 10-year lease for 24,000sq ft over two floors at the state-of-the-art building – more than double its current space – which is equipped with next generation IT security, high-speed fibre and microwave internet technologies.
The building is also the first in Chester to be rated BREEAM “Excellent” thanks to its sustainability credentials.
Sykes is now working with l interior design and space planning consultancy Overbury, with a view to start locating its 300 employees to the building from September.
Earlier this month, Sykes – which manages more than 10,000 holiday rental properties – reported annual sales of £27.3m for the year ending September 2016 – an increase of 24% – with bookings in the year to date also up 23%. It expects to serve upwards of a million holidaymakers this year, up from 815,000 last year, and plans to increase that further to 2.5 million by 2020.
Sykes Cottages chief executive Graham Donoghue said: “Chester has been the heart and home of the business for almost three decades, so continuing our commitment to the region was important to us and our people.
“One City Place ticked all the boxes for a high-growth, technology led business like ours, giving us access to talent from across the region thanks to its excellent transport connectivity and a location that’s both tech enabled and sustainable.”
He added: “This is a major piece of our investment strategy and will help us deliver our commitment to being best choice for property owners, offering the best experience to customers and operating the best brand and platform in the market. It’s a fitting head office for our vision and ambition of being the number one provider of UK holidays.”
Phil Mayall, development director at Muse, said: “Sykes Cottages’ relocation to One City Place highlights the diversity of the scheme, which can accommodate a wide range of business sizes and types. It’s always great to see a local company like Sykes succeed, and we look forward to watching the business continue to grow at its new address.
“Sykes’ relocation also means that One City Place is now more than 70% let and we still have strong interest in the remaining floorspace, which is a real testament to the scheme as a new city centre destination for business.”
