Celebrating 21 Years; A Conversation With Richard Harvey

2024 marks the 21st anniversary of TG Escapes, and to celebrate I sat down with Richard Harvey, founder and CEO of the company, to discuss the past, present, and future of our company and industry.

Can you introduce yourself and your role within TG Escapes?

I’m Richard Harvey, the CEO of TG Escapes. My role now is to oversee the business, ensuring it has all the right conditions to continue to grow. I’ve transitioned to this role over the last 10 years, but I’ve only really stepped back as much as I have now over the last 12 months.

Why did you start TG Escapes?

I was looking to build a business and a brand. I’d been working in the motor industry, so I wanted to do something more sustainable with a connection to nature and the outdoors. We started with timber frame garden offices, which felt great because you could see that they were having an impact on people's lives, their lifestyles, and their work-life balance, while also reducing commuting.

Initially, TG Escapes was me and my wife Kath. My friend Matt came on board fairly quickly, and he’s still instrumental in the business. We quickly hired my stepson and a few of his friends who were just finishing university to help with installations, and 21 years later they’re still here too. One of those friends was Karl, who’s our MD now.

Did you always want to grow as a brand into larger projects?

Not initially. TG Escapes grew around creating the best garden offices in the sector, and we saw ourselves moving into more high-end residential projects. So there was always an ambition, but I can’t pretend that the education or commercial buildings were part of the plan. In the end, several schools discovered our products and made inquiries. We started building one or two small breakout spaces, staff rooms, and intervention rooms, and the education side of the business took off from there.

The experience working in education was good and the 2008 crash had a big impact on our domestic business, as we’d been selling a lot of buildings to bankers in London, so we thought, well, why not? Why not see what we can do in education? Education seemed like a sweet spot for us. It seemed like a nice place to work and we knew that our product was probably too good for the scale we were working at. Increasing the sizes of the buildings and doing fewer projects felt like the way to go, but the more we worked in education, the more we appreciated how rewarding it felt to see the positive learning outcomes for the children.

Richard and the team celebrating their 2024 MMC Award win

What were some of the team's main lessons from those early years?

When we were making garden rooms the amount of work we were putting into each building was fine, but we were selling 12 a month and there were just too many sites operating at one time. I think we were spreading ourselves too thinly for too many customers. Now we control the number of projects we work on so we can maintain the high standards our clients deserve.

There was also a point where we felt that because we were a modular provider, we would move to a more complete offsite construction, and be more like those manufacturers who crane in a solution. We looked to move towards the volumetric market, but we learnt that our panelised approach offered greater flexibility and adaptability. In turn, this meant our design team had more freedom to meet each client's brief.

How has TG Escapes scaled over the last 21 years?

It’s been really organic from a staff point of view, and lots of our team have grown through the ranks. We haven’t tried to get too big too quickly. We started in a rented barn with a caravan for an office, but then we bought our own premises to house our offices and manufacturing unit together. From there we expanded to the neighbouring building 6 years ago.

We moved to in-house manufacturing in 2018, which was definitely an improvement. It gave us greater control and just made the whole team much more responsive. The additional space from next door was also hugely beneficial during COVID, as we had extra room to stockpile the materials we needed rather than relying on direct-to-site deliveries.

COVID was a challenge for us, but we were able to go back to work reasonably quickly. Schools were quite keen and happy for us to be working, particularly while they were closed. The real challenge was the availability of timber supplies and the price changes.

What are some of your proudest accomplishments over the last 21 years?

Seeing TG Escapes become well respected and a prominent figure in the education sector. It's great to see the team speaking at industry events alongside the DfE, supporting organisations like ISBA (Independent School Bursars Association) and Education Estates which we sponsor, winning awards like Contractor of the Year, Manufacturer of the Year, Project of the Year, Public Sector Innovation of the Year. All of those felt really good.

But it's our staff that gives me the greatest satisfaction, seeing people who came on board to help stock the yard with timber now running multi-million-pound contracts for us. There’s a lot of stories like that in the business.

What are some of your favourite projects the team has worked on?

Our work skills and enterprise centre at St Joseph's school

There are a couple that stand out. The Work Skills and Enterprise Centre for St Joseph's Specialist Trust is a great example of a net-zero biophilic design which would not have been affordable to them using traditional construction methods. Knowing we have made a difference for these young people is so gratifying.

There’s also the net-zero building at Ratcliffe College that won us Project of the Year at the 2023 MMC Awards. What I particularly like about this project is that we were selected because they wanted a design that would make a big statement positioned at the front of the college, adding to the appeal of their setting. It shows that energy efficiency, speedy construction and cost-effectiveness don’t mean you have to compromise on style.

What does the future hold for TG Escapes?

It’s down to the team, really. They’re controlling, strategising, and taking the business in the right direction. There’s a drive to be more than just a construction company. I am a big believer in nature-based learning and as someone who didn’t get on in school academically, I would love to help develop a whole school which is designed to be supportive of non-traditional learners and pays as much attention to practical skills and emotional resilience as it does to academic performance.  We believe we can have more of an impact in terms of the curriculum and running of an inclusive school which supports social mobility and provides children from all backgrounds with a space to learn and be inspired.

How is your modular system going to evolve?

We’re currently upgrading our build system, with a slightly different approach to the way we make our panels. We have an innovation programme to ensure that we stay ahead of the regulatory requirements and maximise energy efficiency. The team is also planning around the DfE specification changes next year.

Our carbon reduction plan will see us become a net-zero business and we are always looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings even further.

How did you find out about biophilia?

Interestingly, it’s something we’ve always done, probably born from the fact that we started with garden buildings. Our architect turned around one day and told us that we were making biophilic designs. But we’ve always wanted to push the environmental agenda, so our first buildings were designed with three solid sides and an open front, which goes back to the earliest human accommodation in caves.

What makes TG Escapes specifically suited to SEND schools?

Richard celebrating the opening of our SEND building at Pengwern College

We’ve found a sweet spot in SEND, and clients are coming to us because our buildings feel right in that space. The biophilic designs that we’ve always promoted, the connection to the outdoors, and the natural materials all contribute to a fantastic calming effect. We’ve built on that over the years, learning how to layout and organise SEND spaces in the best way.

Do you think that modular designs will become more popular across mainstream construction?

I think that in time modular construction will take over from traditional construction, due to the speed at which everything needs to be built these days, the material usage, and the level of quality you can get.

Why is timber the best material for your buildings?

Timber is a biogenic carbon store, so every building made with it locks up carbon for the lifetime of the building. While there are arguments for and against concrete, at the end of the day timber is the most sustainable material, because it can be completely replenished. In terms of engineering, they’ve learned to do all sorts of things with timber that they couldn’t do before, thanks to the introduction of fixings and controlled environments that help to stop movement. Being a natural material, timber also brings biophilic properties to our buildings which we know our end users love.

How do you feel to be sitting here 21 years in?

It feels great. I thought I would really miss not having as much control over what’s happening, but I get so much enjoyment from watching the business evolve. So my role now is to provide the space and support for the team to develop and grow to be the best they can be. The feedback we’re getting from our clients is a testament to their outstanding expertise and attitude.