Lingar Group on voyage of growth after moving to Portside House

A growing property development company has relocated from its base in Chester to a sumptuous new headquarters in Ellesmere Port.

Lingar Group has moved into the 9,000 sq ft Portside House after investing about £600,000 purchasing and renovating the property.

The company has installed grade A heating and cooling systems, LED lighting internally and externally and reinsulated the building to a higher standard to improve its environmental impact.

So far, seven other companies also occupy the offices in the building, but there are two more suites available – both about 750 sq ft in size.

The refurbishment took about 10 weeks to complete after which time Lingar moved from its prior home on Lower Bridge Street in Chester.

Including managing director Gary Poole and his wife Lynsey, Lingar has four full-time staff, but uses up to 30 contractors and subcontractors to carry out projects.

The company was previously a constructor, but Poole decided the company he founded 10 years ago would become change from being a builder of other developers’ properties to becoming a developer in its own right.

The Lingar Group turnover amounts to about £5m, much less than the revenue of the company when it was a constructor, but Poole said the company’s profits had risen 10-fold as a result.

“It was a business decision to become a developer,” he said. “But it has paid off. You know what they say – turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.”