When you are the first facility of your kind in the UK, have seen user numbers quadruple and been named the best Land Rover Experience centre in the world, you are probably doing something right.

Land Rover Experience West Country, based at Awliscombe on the edge of the magnificent Blackdown Hills has three unbeatable elements: 135 acres of countryside, including 40 acres of woodland; a fleet of the iconic vehicles – and making it all work – a highly skilled, dedicated and growing team.

The centre offers a range of driving experiences for Land Rover owners and enthusiasts as well as corporate events, team building and professional driver training, accredited by, for example, LANTRA and the British Off Road Driving Association (BORDA). The recently opened Conference and Meeting rooms offer an alternative venue for clients to host a meeting. There are even ‘Trek days’ organised for enthusiasts to travel further afield, learning about their vehicles and off road driving as they go.

Owner Andy Summers converted a series of barns at the former dairy farm into the centre in 2002 and since then has seen annual visitor numbers grow from 2000 per annum to 8000 in 2017. Indeed, numbers have grown in proportion with the increased popularity of Land Rovers nationally over recent years.

“As our numbers have grown and the world has become more complex – GDPR being a good example – Perspective HR’s assistance and advice has been invaluable.”

Andy Summers, Owner

As the centre has developed, Perspective HR has been on hand to assist over the last decade. This has included drafting employee contracts and handbooks, dealing with queries and Action Centred Leadership training for senior staff.

Andy said: “As our numbers have grown and the world has become more complex – GDPR being a good example – Perspective HR’s assistance and advice has been invaluable.”

“We appreciate the personal touch and like dealing with people who know the business, rather than just tick a box. With Perspective HR we are not pushed around from one adviser to another having to spend hours explaining the business every time we ring up.”

“We have recently completed our third phase of developing the centre and its buildings to create a suite of conference and meeting rooms. Key to the whole thing is our people and it is essential that we are kept up to date, follow best practice and develop leadership throughout the organisation.”

Perspective HR regularly work with the centre manager Paul Siely, who said: “Perspective HR has been a very valuable partner to our business and has supported us through growth. The team is always on hand to offer sound professional advice and to stimulate thought and discussion.”

Land Rover Experience was recently voted the best centre of its kind in the world, a huge accolade for Andy and the team. In 2019 they also won the Exeter Chamber of Commerce Business Award.

Based off the A373 Honiton to Cullompton Road, Land Rover Experience’s conference room is the regular host of Perspective HR’s Action Centred Leadership courses.