A MAKER of holiday homes has taken on 60 staff after re-starting production and expects to be employing 300 within the next five years.

Regal Leisure Homes, which started life as part of the long-established Dorset business BK Bluebird, has opened a new factory and customer facility at Three Legged Cross.

It was bought by the Omar Group after suffering in the pandemic. Production re-started last month.

Omar Group chief executive Graeme Craig said: “This is not only exciting news for parks and customers who have come to love the quality and design of the Regal product, it is also an exciting move for Omar Group, enabling us to provide support and facilities for our customers in the south of England.

“This fabulous new production facility, significantly expands the group’s production capability, giving us around 400,000sqft of production facilities and the ability to service as a group over £250million worth of park homes, lodges and holiday homes at retail prices.”

The business, which started under Poole-based BK Bluebird, was acquired by a larger group in Yorkshire and has been known as Regal Holiday Homes for the past 12 years. It is the only caravan holiday home manufacturer in the south of England.

The Regal team, under founder Nigel Heslington, will be building a range of 12ft, 13ft and 14ft wide holiday homes and lodges, including the top-of-the-range Hartland Lodge and Artisan Lodge. There will be another three premium holiday homes – the Hemsworth, Charmouth and Baywater – all with central heating and double glazing.

The five-acre site includes three production lines and a showground to display the products.

Omar Group says the site has ample space for expansion and can deliver holiday homes worth £90m a year at retail prices.

Regal founder Nigel Heslington said: “The last two years have been extremely challenging. We had a deal agreed and in place to become part of Omar Group at the start of 2020. However, the global pandemic put this on hold.

“Our new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, with extensive office and customer facilities, all-new capital equipment and three efficient and effective production lines, will deliver our all-new range of products with better, repeatable product quality, in a manner that our old facility at Wareham never afforded us.

“We have worked really hard since the summer of last year ensuring the business plan is right, analysing the marketplace and the competitive offering, and putting together our new range of five premium holiday homes. We commenced manufacturing on July 26.

“We haven’t formally launched the business yet, but we already have over £10m worth of orders from customers with holiday parks.”

Omar’s Graeme Craig added: “I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our new landlords, Ankers & Rawlings Developments Ltd, for all their support. They took our new site through planning to facilitate the amount of storage required and space for a customer showground and meeting facility. It’s nice to see two local Dorset businesses working in close concert.”