Old Rectory Spa
23 November 2023
Sector: Health and Beauty
Location: Newark & Sherwood
Founded in 2022, the Old Rectory Spa is a family run wellbeing spa retreat providing holistic health treatments and exclusive spa experiences in the village of North Scarle on the Nottinghamshire/ Lincolnshire border.
The spa offers a range of luxury treatments which include an outdoor hot tub, sauna, cold water therapy and a relaxation room. The business employs a team of highly trained spa therapists who are qualified in offering bespoke treatments for customers. The team has grown from just 4 to now 14 in the last 12 months.
Challenges faced
Due to their significant growth the Old Rectory Spa has faced challenges in recruitment. As the business prides itself on having a team of knowledgeable and expert therapists, it has been a challenge to recruit therapists that meet these high standards. Despite these difficulties the business persevered and they now have a fantastic, highly skilled team.
An additional challenge faced was opening in the middle of a cost of living and energy crisis, which directly affected customer spending, impacting the business goals.
Solution and Impact
With support from a business adviser, the Old Rectory Spa has benefited from a number of interventions available through the Accelerator project. This includes undertaking an energy audit, as heating and electricity are one of the biggest overheads faced by the business. The energy audit will form part of a decarbonisation plan, which will feed into a wider sustainability strategy. This is incredibly important to the business and they have already made steps towards this, such as removing the use of unnecessary single use items and exploring the installation of solar panels and individual heat pumps for the hot tubs.
Through the installation of the heat pumps the hope is that per annum the business can save approximately two thirds of their hot tub’s power consumption. An average Hot tub costs approximately £100 per month to run with the current energy prices. Air Source Heat Pumps can reduce this by 50-60% in the winter and more in the summer. Therefore, the anticipated saving is between £1400 - £1600 per annum. This will also equate to a significant energy saving, allowing the business to move closer to their goal of becoming a sustainable business.
The business has also benefited from a Growth Voucher through the Accelerator project. This will enable them to work with a local brand consultancy to look at how they can raise awareness of the spa to promote their unique offering, helping to grow revenue.
“Although we have faced challenges in our first year, we have such a unique business, in the most beautiful setting, our customer feedback has been fantastic and we are excited and optimistic for our future.”
- Katie Statham, Director
