Rubicon Garden Rooms unveils £500k showroom village
Family‑run Rubicon Garden Rooms opens a £500,000 ‘Village’ on the Cheshire‑North Wales border, boosting sales by 25% and creating local jobs.
A family‑run garden‑rooms business has turned a derelict farmyard on the Cheshire‑North Wales border into a £500,000 showroom “village”, marking a 25 per cent rise in sales since the move.
The site, known locally as The Village, sits on Old Hope Road on the outskirts of Penyffordd, a mile from Junction 36 of the A55, and replaces Rubicon Garden Rooms’ former base at Deeside Enterprise Centre in Shotton.
Founder John Lyon, a former aircraft engineer who entered the building trade in 2006 before launching the garden‑rooms venture in 2013, led the 18‑month conversion of the old farm buildings.
Rubicon now employs 25 staff who serve customers across North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside, the Wirral and Shropshire, offering a range of zero‑maintenance garden rooms.
The Village showcases ten fully furnished units, each fitted as a home office, gym, entertainment space, music room or one‑ to two‑bedroom annex, allowing visitors to walk through and visualise the finished product.
Local dignitaries attended the official opening, including Alyn and Deeside MP Sir Mark Tami and Flint‑Wrexham MS Ken Skates, both praising the firm’s contribution to the regional economy.
“We have come a long way in the past few years and I am delighted to have the site all set up and finished for customers to come along and have a look and see what we do here.” We are selling a lifestyle and the showroom means customers can come here, look at our range and imagine what one of our buildings will look in their garden.
Our staff have worked hard to develop the showroom site, while still at the same time being out on the jobs to generate the revenue we need to keep the business flowing and customers happy. You can look at garden rooms online and you will see a pretty picture, but unless you actually stand in it, walk around it, experience the quality of the buildings, it is very hard for people to visualise the end result.
We have had an extremely good reaction from the customers who have already been here, and that is evidenced by the fact that we have enjoyed about a 25 per cent uplift in sales in the last couple of years since we moved from our old base.
Rob Lyon, who now runs the business alongside his father, highlighted the transformation from a neglected farmyard to a finished showroom.
“When you think about where it has come from and how it started and what it was like when we first moved into it, to have it all finally finished off is brilliant.” Having the showroom makes such a big difference.
Customers who have already been here have all been impressed by what they have seen and they particularly comment on the quality of the buildings we provide.
Sir Mark Tami, who visited Rubicon at its former Deeside location, said the new site demonstrated the scale of the company’s output.
“This is my first visit to this site and I must say I am very impressed.” I visited the business at its previous site, and this site is on a different scale.
It gives customers a real understanding of the size and scale of the rooms the company provides. Companies like Rubicon Garden Rooms are so important to the Welsh economy, all SMEs (Small and Medium‑Sized Enterprises) are, because as well as the big prime companies around here such as Airbus, Toyota and firms on Deeside Industrial Estate, we also need SMEs.
It is very important that companies like Rubicon Garden Rooms feel confident enough to invest in this area and create local jobs.
Ken Skates, who inspected the site during its development, praised the company’s community impact.
“It is an absolute delight to return here and see the showroom site officially opening and seeing the company continuing to grow.” It not just about the product they offer their customers, it is about what they do for and with the community in providing local jobs and remaining an important employer in the area.
The opening ceremony featured a pizza van, drinks and snacks, underscoring the family‑run ethos behind the venture.
Rubicon’s investment in the new Village not only provides a tangible showcase for its expanding product range but also signals confidence in the border region’s manufacturing base, with the firm expecting continued growth as awareness spreads.