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CASE STUDY

H.R. Owen

HCE revs up luxury appeal at new H.R. Owen car dealership

 

  • Client

    H.R. Owen

  • Location

    Hertfordshire

  • Industry

    Corporate

H.R.OWEN is Britain’s leading Luxury Motor Group, retailing and maintaining only the world’s most desirable premium car brands including Aston Martin, BAC, Bentley, Bugatti, Czinger, Ferrari, Hennessey, Lamborghini, Maserati, Radford, Rimac & Rolls-Royce. They operate 18 showrooms and 14 service centres across London and the UK and opened their new HQ in London earlier this year.

To really set the new state-of-the-art flagship site apart from its 15 additional premium venues H.R. Owen stepped it up a gear, enlisting the expertise of HCE to supply, install and project manage an on-site commercial kitchen and ventilation system.

 

The new 5.4-acre site in Hertfordshire boasts six car showrooms;; four workshops for services and repairs, one private dining room, a private rooftop terrace, an atrium and, thanks to HCE, a fully functional high end commercial kitchen. With this facility the concept was to create a destination site where customers could view the latest models and attend launches, with the option to dine at an on-site gourmet restaurant to create the ultimate luxury experience.

Speaking on how the proposal came to the table, H.R. Owen’s Property and Facilities Manager, Lisa Wilshire, explains:

“The thinking behind the concept of fitting a commercial kitchen at our new facility in Hatfield was that we wanted to make the site an experience for customers. We wanted to be able to hold loads of events here from sit down dinners, canapé cocktail receptions, breakfast clubs, and barbecues for customers, to accompany vehicle launches or as occasions in their own right. To do this we had to have the right offering from a catering point of view on site.”

Our relationship with HCE running the build project has been really good. They’ve been invaluable. They have basically delivered an amazing kitchen, and they’ve given us great support along the way. We’d definitely recommend HCE as a partner.

Lucy Wilshire

Property and Facilities Manager at HR Owen

Part of the uniqueness of the project came from the versatility required from the space which would host an array of third party event caterers cooking up a multitude of global cuisines. It was integral to the company’s operations that the design of the kitchen, and selected appliances, could support H.R Owen’s ambitious brief. We wanted to make sure that it was a fully functional kitchen,” says Lisa. “One that you’d probably find in a restaurant, if not better. We wanted all sorts of cuisine to come out of the kitchen, as our events vary quite a lot. It was therefore important that we had all the various kinds of equipment for each of the caterers because every event on site is slightly different.”

Following recommendation from a reputable chef, H.R. Owen contacted HCE for a consultation. After considering a number of design proposals, Lisa says HCE were the obvious choice. “HCE brought a world of knowledge,” she explains. “They knew the kitchen equipment very well; they talked us through what we would achieve by having the equipment they recommended. They also pointed out the need for a quality ventilation system, as we didn’t want the showrooms smelling of the food. We had been out for designs, from various contractors, and HCE came up with the best solution – the solution that would achieve what we needed and at a really good budgeted price. Even though the extraction system sits on the roof terrace, we can still have functions up there, as the noise levels are quiet, and the food smells are non-existent.”

On top of their product knowledge, it was HCE’s long term partnership, service and maintenance offerings, as well as on-site project management, that fully established the supplier as the frontrunner for the job.

Lisa says, “HCE has basically provided the full package in terms of service and maintenance, which includes the fire suppression system, and also cleaning the ducts for us.

“Service and maintenance at Hatfield is very different to that of a usual restaurant – as we don’t have a fixed chef on site, we have catering companies that come in and use the kitchen. So, from our point of view, we have a partner in HCE that can actually look after the maintenance. And that’s everything from consumables, to the equipment, making sure everything happens on time, making sure everything’s working when we need it.”

“HCE were specifically good on helping us deliver the project on time. They worked together with the contractors on site who were doing the fitout to make sure that things were happening correctly.”

“Our relationship with HCE running the build project has been really good. They’ve been invaluable. They have basically delivered an amazing kitchen, and they’ve given us great support along the way. We’d definitely recommend HCE as a partner.”

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