novo hair

HOCKLEY, ESSEX

The Project

novo hair is an award-winning hairdresser offering a choice of two salons based in Hockley & Southend on Sea, Essex. Having already re-furbished the Southend on Sea salon with new lighting and air conditioning, they wished to enjoy the energy saving benefits gained in their Hockley salon.

The Hockley salon has been established for 8 years and the business has grown ‘organically’, with them replacing fixtures and fittings as cash-flow allowed. The salon was in need of investment to undertake a similar project to the one that took place in Southend.

Designed specifically to improve energy efficiency (something that the company is passionate about) the Hockley project was intended to meet the needs of both staff and customers alike. Poor lighting and an outdated heating system were the two main areas identified as being the focus of the much-needed refurbishment.

An energy audit was undertaken and it was identified that the lighting was in need of updating to the latest in energy efficient, cost-effective LED’s and fittings and the old heating system needed to be a replaced with a modern heating/cooling solution. In addition, in gaining the funding, it was hoped that novo would not only benefit from the savings gained from the refurbishment of the salon, but also be in a position to employ an additional two stylists and one apprentice.

The Process

Kevin Franks, Managing Director of novo hair, heard about the LoCASE project through visiting the LoCASE stand at the Southend Business Partnership Funding Marketplace in September 2016. With LoCASE support, he completed the grant application form and got the required two independent quotes for new air conditioning units and new energy efficient LED lighting.

Within a few days of hearing about the grant scheme, the application was submitted and novo was able to commence with the refurbishment of the Hockley salon.

The Outcome

A LoCASE grant of over £6,500 enabled novo to replace both its existing lighting as well as the heating/cooling system, with a more cost-effective solution. A high-end climate controlled environment is now driven by a Daikin air conditioning unit in the salon, and is complemented by a Mitsubishi (MHI) unit in the salon office – installed by Blue Sky Air Conditioning of Chelmsford, Essex. The superb, new lighting, consisting of over 70 lights was installed throughout the salon by HF Installations of Leigh on Sea, Essex.

The outcome of the project has meant that novo staff and customers alike are benefitting from excellent, new climate controlled environment and lighting system – novo also hopes to use any savings made on business overheads to recruit three new team members. The LoCASE funded project is estimated to save novo in the region of £2,500 per year in electricity costs alone and contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions of over 9 tonnes!

Testimonial

‘I cannot fault the LoCASE funding process – it has enabled novo to invest in energy saving equipment/technology that often gets overlooked when budgets become tight. Investing in these processes invariably leads to significant cost-savings in the long term and the funding novo benefitted from enabled us to prioritise this investment.

Energy savings and cost efficiency were high priorities for novo when it came to investing in our salon refurbishment; working with LoCASE was a simple process and the financial assistance offered enabled novo to place a focus on these areas that would not have been possible, had we not received the financial assistance provided by LoCASE”.

Kevin Franks, Managing Director, novo hair