The home, leisure and garden retailer has announced a summer opening for its new head office in Plymouth, which looks set to create up to 450 new jobs.

The new store is already open and has been “very well received by customers who have enjoyed seeing the transformation of the site”, said The Range.

The Range’s head office is currently located in Estover and houses 250 employees but the business has grown rapidly and the current site is no longer big enough to house operations. The new headquarters will hold up to 700 staff, creating 450 new jobs over a wide range of departments across its buying, e-commerce, IT, marketing and accounts departments.

Once completed, the new office, which is situated at the old Seaton Hill Barracks site just off the Tavistock road in Derriford, will have a link to the store next door, allowing for staff training. The Range believes, the advantages of having its head office next door to a store are going to be a huge step in the continued success of the company.

The retailer, which is owned by entrepreneur Chris Dawson, already boasts more than 164 stores and has confirmed an extensive plan to open more outlets across the UK and Ireland, with the aim of reaching 600.

Chris Dawson commented: “It was always very important for me to keep our head office operations in our home city of Plymouth and the place that CDS The Range started. I have staff that have worked for the company for over 20 years, so having a new office built just down the road from the current office, is a big deal to all of us. Having the new superstore next to our head office also means that it can be used as a training academy and centre of excellence, so that Range staff from across the UK can come down to Plymouth and be trained to the highest standards.

“We also have a lot of suppliers visit us from around the world that will use local hotels, restaurants and transport, they might even stay for a holiday. I would like to personally thank the Council for being so supportive in helping us keep the Head Office in its home city of Plymouth.”

Council leader Tudor Evans OBE said: “It makes me incredibly proud to be able to see the transformation of this plot of land into a place where hundreds of people work for a hugely successful – and home grown – company.

“We acquired the site from the MOD in 2011 and helped lay the ground for The Range to make its base here. Being proactive, supporting and helping businesses to invest here in Plymouth is massively important to the Council, to the city. It means steady work for hundreds of people as well as opportunities and that’s great for families here in Plymouth. We are talking over 500 people now enjoying employment – that’s just fantastic.”