Gold Medal set to make Leyland move
Travel agent Gold Medal Travel Group is relocating from Preston to offices in Lancashire Business Park, Leyland, after acquiring a 50,000 sq ft building from Lancashire County Council.
The business park is the former headquarters of Leyland Trucks, and was bought by the council in 1993 through its economic development company Lancashire County Developments Limited.
Gold Medal Travel Group is currently based at offices at Preston Docks, and will be relocating to Lancaster House in spring 2019. The building will be refurbished prior to staff moving in.
Cllr Tim Ashton, chairman of LCDL, said: “This is great news for Lancashire, as we’ve been able to work with Gold Medal Travel Group, a locally-based company, to find them the right site for their future growth plans.
“They’re already successfully working worldwide, employing hundreds of people, and this move will help them to continue this in the future.”
John Bevan, chief executive of dnata Travel Europe, owners of Gold Medal Travel, said: “After 18 years at The Trident Centre, the time is right for a new location. This will be our signature office, there will be a focus on wellness and it will be kitted out with British materials. We will be as eco-friendly as we can. The staff are all very excited and are looking forward to a refreshed and improved working environment.”
I wondered what was happening at Lancaster House as I noticed it was being gutted when I past it earlier today. I worked there for a number of years when it was the head office of ARM who later became Enterprise plc.
By Stuart
We are all aware that 50,000 sq ft is a massive area and the costs of running a prestigious building of this size is mind blowing. I am familiar with the layout and the construction of this particular building having worked at the Leyland plant for many years and know that it has in the past been a money pit due to its size and style of construction and is no longer a easy building to run and maintain as it is now half a century since it was built. It is iconic in design but it is the flat roof that causes the most problems. Originally there was an application to demolish the building but as its a listed building this was rejected. The whole footprint including the car parks covers several acres, it will need a very successful and prosperous ongoing business to operate from this site.
By Barry Miller
Barry, Gold Medal is part of dnata which in turn is a company within the Emirates Group based in Dubai. They have over 40,000 employees worldwide and are one of the biggest travel and aviation service industry players worldwide. No worries about the financial clout behind them at all.
The building has/is being completely gutted and given a completely new lease of life for the modern age.
I’m sure all of my colleagues are very excited about moving in.
By Rob Griffiths