CONSTRUCTION PHASE BEGINS ON MULTI-MILLION-POUND EXTENSION AT THE HOME OF ROLLS-ROYCE – AutoMart Canada

• Construction begins on the new extension to the Home of
  Rolls-Royce at Goodwood
• First of around 650 concrete foundation pads poured on the north
  side of the site
• Groundworks already completed, less than a year after granting of
  planning permission
• New building has been meticulously designed to be entirely
  sympathetic to its surroundings
• £300+ million project is the largest single investment in Goodwood
  facility since 2003

“Securing planning permission to extend the Home of Rolls-Royce at
Goodwood was the culmination of a detailed process of consultation
and partnership with the local community and relevant agencies,
authorities and expert advisors. I’m delighted that, in less than 12
months, we have begun the construction phase with the installation
of the first foundation pads. This is a highly significant and
exciting moment; it means we’re firmly on track to deliver this
landmark project on schedule, enabling our future prosperity and
immense economic contribution to the region and ‘UK PLC’.”

Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The construction phase of the new £300+ million
landmark extension to the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood has begun,
with the pouring of the first concrete foundation pads on the site,
adjacent to the marque’s existing manufacturing facility and global headquarters.

The inaugural pads have been installed on the northern elevation
of the site, where the new Exterior Surface Centre (Paint Shop) will
be located. Contractors will now work their way southwards, creating a
network of around 650 pads that form the foundations upon which this
vital building will stand.

Goodwood is the Home of Rolls-Royce in both name and fact, as
the only place in the world where Rolls-Royce motor cars are designed
and hand-built. The marque is ever mindful of this unique status, and
is deeply sensitive to the building’s location in the beautiful West
Sussex countryside, near the South Downs National Park.

Opened in 2003, the original site was specifically designed to
blend into its surroundings. Together with its carefully considered
blend of materials, and the largest ‘living roof’ in the UK, this
renders it all but invisible from beyond its boundaries; the extension
builds on this legacy. It has been meticulously designed to be
sympathetic to the existing building and local landscape, while also
reflecting advances in architecture, aesthetics, construction methods
and approaches to the environment, conservation and biodiversity over
the intervening 22 years.

Rolls-Royce applied for planning permission following an
extensive consultation process involving local residents and relevant
authorities, agencies, utilities and other stakeholders, supported by
expert professional advisors and consultants. Since permission was
granted by Chichester District Council in March 2024, progress on the
project has been remarkably swift. The extensive groundworks required,
including the landscaped bunds designed to screen the site from view,
are well advanced. There have also been comprehensive upgrades to
local footpaths, with planned planting contributing to a projected 12%
biodiversity net-gain.

As well as housing the new Surface Finish Centre, the 40,000
square-metre extension will create much-needed capacity for the
marque’s rapidly expanding Bespoke activities. These reached record
levels in 2024, driven by the substantial growth in client requests
for more technically complex, authentically challenging and highly
individualised Bespoke commissions, which reach their apex in
Coachbuild projects. This growth is itself a direct result of the
marque’s continued investment in its global network of Private
Offices, which has expanded from the original at Goodwood to
international luxury centres including Dubai, Shanghai, New York and Seoul.

At more than £300 million, the extension project represents the
single largest investment in the Home of Rolls-Royce since the
facility opened in 2003. In that time, Rolls-Royce has become a great
British manufacturing success story, with over 2,500 people employed
on site and supporting a further 7,500 jobs in its wider supply chain.
An independent study by the London School of Economics (LSE) showed
the company has added a total of more than £4 billion to the UK
economy, and currently makes an annual contribution in excess of £500 million.