Working from home is good business for Chorley garden studios firm

Thousands of  firms have suffered a massive fall in income during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sanctum Garden Studios teamThe Sanctum Garden Studios team
The Sanctum Garden Studios team

But there have been exceptions – and Sanctum Garden Studios is one of them.

The Chorley-based firm makes and installs garden rooms, or studios.

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And the pandemic and the rise in home working has led to Sanctum’s sales tripling.

One of the range of studiosOne of the range of studios
One of the range of studios

The firm was set up 12 years ago by husband and wife team Gary and Sam Cullen.

They said that they spotted a gap in the market and went for it.

Now the trend for home working has led to more and more people seeking extra space.

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It is not merely about “man sheds” any more – many professionals want to invest in somewhere pleasant, warm and comfortable to call their office.

Sanctum’s prices start from around £8,000 – and the firm is finding its studios in high demand.

Sam said: “We noticed that a few builders were doing them, but charging an absolute fortune.

“We made a trial studio for a friend and it just developed from there.”

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The firm now employs seven people and they have three ranges of studios.

All are built in the Chorley factory and asembled at the customer’s home, usually in one day.

Sam said: “From March last year I think people realised that they were going potentially to be working from home for a long time.

“They had saved cash by not going on holiday and decided they wanted a studio.

“From that, 2020 was the best year we have ever had.

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“When we started we had very few local orders – they were from further afield. Now we have plenty.”

Sam said that for many people a garden studio was an investment and people were seeing it as such, as it offered not just a potential office but another room for the house..

“At the end of the day it will add to the value or your property – and it’s an extra room.” she added.

***Thankyou for reading.

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