Oakley Property, Shoreham Port and the Lady Bee Enterprise Centre

With a partnership spanning 25 years, Oakley and Shoreham Port share a rich history. During this time, we have been gradually building the overall amount of tenant companies at the port, which now sits at an impressive total of over 150 – a number that continues to grow. This significant number now means that a large proportion of the port’s overall income is from commercial tenants. Commenting on the partnership between Oakley and Shoreham Port, Steven Harvey, Commercial Director at Oakley Property said,

“Delivering exciting, award-winning, new projects like the Lady Bee Enterprise Centre is testament to the forward thinking and hardworking nature of both parties. We are extremely proud of the partnership we have developed and look forward to working on future projects together to ensure the continued prosperity of the port”.

How did Oakley help with the Lady Bee Enterprise Centre?

As a trusted advisor, Oakley was brought in to help develop the design and configuration of the Lady Bee Enterprise Centre commercial units at the earliest stage. By successfully predicting a shift in the office market, which saw more and more companies looking to move away from the high rents of central Brighton to seek better value in locations with good transport links, Oakley were able fine tune the units to the market requirements at the time. The units were designed from the ground up to be high quality, versatile, energy efficient business premises, incorporating a 50% mezzanine floor, and were built to a BREEAM “very good” rating. The design echoed the local industrial “North light” buildings of the past with a modern twist incorporating Zinc “fish scale” cladding.  To accommodate a wide range of business uses and needs, the units varied in size from 800-18,000sq.ft, which has led to the units being occupied by a variety of companies who utilize them in different ways such as CNC, Sussex Promotions, One Green bottle and many others.

What was the marketing strategy for this scheme?

Having a strong marketing strategy is at the heart of everything we do at Oakley. Bespoke marketing and strong branding, including professionally produced brochures, stunning CGI’s and targeted adverts, were integral to us finding over 70% of tenants for the scheme prior to practical completion. In the following months, the remaining units in the scheme reached 100% capacity, where it has remained ever since, including throughout the pandemic.

An award-winning scheme

The success of the scheme, from both a commercial and design perspective, hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Lady Bee Enterprise Centre picked up back-to-back awards in 2020 including being awarded the Best Small Commercial Project in the 2020 Local Authority Building Control (LABC) South East Awards, as well as the Sheeting & Cladding Award in the 2020 UK Roofing Awards.

More recently, the Lady Bee Enterprise Centre won the Royal British Institute of Architects (RIBA) South East Award 2021, in recognition of architectural excellence.

The latest development by Shoreham Port, Ferry Wharf, is filling up fast and we anticipate it being just as successful as the Lady bee Enterprise Centre. To find out more information about this development please click here.

Find out how Oakley Property can help you

At Oakley, we can offer expert advice on the design, development, and marketing of a comprehensive range of residential and commercial property, new homes, land, professional and management services.

We can provide bespoke marketing brands that will be used throughout the entire marketing collateral to give you an edge over the competition. We can even help you with your own corporate branding to ensure buyer confidence in your product.

To find out more please contact Steven Harvey on 01273 645 722 or email steven@oakleyproperty.com