- Creative Hub Flourishes at Oxford Court

- Cooperation takes hold as business introductions get made

Demand in South Dorset for commercial premises has seen a tailor-made section of the new £3.5million Oxford Court development quickly become leased by regional firms keen to secure smart, centrally-located business premises.

Five specialist businesses have taken over a bespoke section of the new development, creating an exciting business hub on a newly formed part of the Granby Industrial Estate. The scheme has transformed a derelict plot into flexible modern units ideal for business and light industrial use. The brownfield site has been carefully developed into stylish, modern business units for organisations keen to base operations in the region.

The five firms have been specifically sited together with several offering interconnected services. The organisations include optoelectronic experts Pacer International; Computer Aided Design specialist Catwards; maternity clothing e-retailer Heavenly Bump; quality live-in care provider St Judes, and Coastal Accountants, the fast-growing regional accountancy firm. All are established organisations with proven track records.

Whether it’s IT infrastructure being shared, customer introductions or reciprocal work shared out, staff at the new development have taken on a co-operative business outlook. An early example is the joint work undertaken by Pacer International and Catwards, whereby the two business leaders are actively delivering shared projects for new clients. Similarly Coastal Accountants, St Judes and Heavenly Bump are being actively recommended for a wide range of opportunities by staff working across the business hub.

The first phase of Oxford Court, completed in 2008, was quickly leased by local and national businesses. DJ Property’s Chief Executive Mickey Jones looks set to repeat a similar feat. Mr Jones said: ‘Helping firms establish themselves in South Dorset is our No.1 aim. Investment in the Oxford Court facilities, producing highly secure business premises that are maintenance-free and can be configured in a vast number of ways, has attracted these growing firms to develop in the region.’

The individual configuration of the units is only one part of the attraction. Sally Andrews, from St Judes, explains: ‘We’re a small, family-run organisation offering supportive care to a range of Dorset clients. Like the highly tailored service we provide, we were looking for the same from our landlord. DJ Property’s hands-on experience and straight-talking approach impressed us just as much as their long-term commitment to supporting growing regional organisations. We’re delighted to be in our new premises at Oxford Court’.

For others, professional facilities and the right business neighbours led to the move. Cathy Warne, owner of CAD specialist Catwards, said of her decision: ‘Brand new, stylish business premises, ideally suited for inviting clients to and working within, sited alongside like-minded firms, made me move my business here. It’s great to be here, business is good and it’s terrific to be supported by such a forward-looking landlord. From where we are, we know we’ll continue to build on our success.’

Oxford Court premises are built around a modern courtyard design offering substantial parking and fast access to road and transport links. £89 million was recently invested in a new relief road between Weymouth and Dorchester, considerably improving travel connections across South Dorset.

All DJ Property business units are highly-secure, virtually maintenance-free and can be configured in a vast number of ways to suit commercial needs.

NOTES TO EDITORS

PICTURE CAPTION:

Members of the five businesses outside the modern units.

To interview Mickey Jones, Chief Exectutive at DJ Property, please contact James Fenton at Watershed PR: 01308 420785.

DJ Property

DJ Property lets industrial, retail, office, leisure, and storage properties in South Dorset. DJ Property wholly owns and manages all of its properties. More information about the firm can be found at www.djproperty.com

About Oxford Court

The facility is located at the top of Cambridge Road on the Granby Industrial Estate, Weymouth. Occupiers of the Oxford Court units include PTS Plumbing, Salon Services, Paragon Skills for Industry and Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.

About Heavenly Bump

High street maternity clothing buyer and designer Amy-Kate Crane and Kirsty van Deurs Goss are the Directors of Heavenly Bump Maternitywear, a new online maternity clothing store, based at Oxford Court, Dorset. They decided to become mumpreneurs after the established fashion retailer they worked for relocated from Weymouth to London. Full details about their stylish clothing range, UK stockists and general ethos can be found at http://www.heavenlybump.co.uk/

About St Judes

St Judes is a family-run business with over 25 years of care experience. Offering bespoke, quality live-in care services, for those in need, their primary aim is to bridge the gap between home and residential care by providing a helping hand or whatever level of home care is needed to facilitate people to stay in their own home. More detail about their services and UK reach can be found on the following link http://www.caringathome.co.uk/

About Coastal Accountants

Coastal Accountants is an independent local firm of accountants offering a complete range of accountancy services to small and medium-sized businesses. They advise on improving profitability, business growth, securing finance, reduction of tax liabilities and exit planning. They have two premises: one is Hampshire/Fareham based, the other is in the newly opened Enterprise Hub at Oxford Court. More details about the professional services they offer can be found via http://coastalaccountants.co.uk/contact.php

Pacer International

Pacer International is a specialist supplier of optoelectronic, display and laser solutions. Experts in LEDs, Sensors, Photonics products and Information Displays, their UK headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, with additional UK sites at Pangbourne and Crawley, and an office in Cork, Ireland. The Pacer Design Centre is located in Weymouth at Oxford Court. More information about Pacer and their worldwide network of manufacturing partners can be found via http://www.pacer.co.uk

About Catwards

Catwards provide specialist 3D modelling & engineering CAD draughting services for design engineers, engineering companies, drawing offices, inventors and manufacturing companies. As part of their professional bespoke service they also offer 2D AutoCAD; parasolids; 2D to 3D part conversion; large format plotting service & 3D printing. More details about their service can be found via http://www.catwards.com

ENDS