At the edge of Sturminster Newton, Rolls Mill Business Park is quietly thriving – and not in the way you might expect.
Once a neglected asset in a portfolio, River Court is now home to chilli-makers, dry ice car detailers, and ultra-light expedition gear designers – and it’s working, thanks to two local landlords who ripped up the rulebook.
When Chris Ridge and Colin Andrews – both chartered surveyors – first looked at River Court, two units were vacant, and other tenants were preparing to leave.
‘No one was interested in the place. It was part of a large investment portfolio,’ says Chris. ‘Everything was done through remote agents. The tenants didn’t even know who to call. Contractors based in Bristol were employed to come and cut the grass and clear the gutters – it was ridiculous.
‘We spoke to every tenant before we bought it. When they heard we were local and planned to turn things around, they agreed to stay.’
Noel Bryson of Henryettas Hooks, a bespoke crochet hook maker, says the difference was immediate. ‘We had looked to move here before, and the previous landlords wanted a £6,000 deposit up front. We told them what we thought of that idea. But when Chris and Colin took over, they showed us Unit 2 and it was a no-brainer. We’ve got our own toilet! There were 40 units and one toilet at our old base! It’s a lovely area to be in: it’s clean, it’s tidy, it’s quiet but busy… we already love it here.’
Not your average tin shed
In their first year, Chris and Colin halved the service charge for tenants, landscaped the site, added solar panels to high-energy using units, and began planting wildflowers and trees.
‘We want to make it a genuinely nice place to work,’ says Chris. ‘Internet access is good, we’ve got fibre to every unit. Unlike most business parks, we’ve got space – only 23 per cent of the site is developed, so we’re working to make the rest feel like somewhere people want to be.’
The units themselves are unusually high quality for small industrial lets – built in brick with tiled roofs and proper insulation.
‘They’re miles better than your standard tin sheds,’ says Colin. ‘Dorset Council set the original spec, and it’s far higher than developers would use today. And with new energy regulations coming in, that’ll really matter. A lot of newer builds will struggle. These won’t.’
The result is a quiet but thriving estate attracting a unique mix of tenants – and some surprising collaborations. One firm needed a specialist ceramic coating. Another tenant had the skills. They started talking. That job led to another – and a whole new contract.
David and Mikka Tamlyn of Weymouth 51 moved in soon after Chris and Colin took over. ‘We considered a unit up the road – twice the size, double the business rates,’ says David. ‘Then we found this one online, phoned Chris, and said, “We’ll have it!” straight away. It’s perfect.
‘The neighbours are great. The chap across the way forklifts our deliveries – we pay him in wine and beer! It’s tidy, safe and secure, that’s the point.’
‘There are three blocks of units, ranging from 550sq ft to 3,100sq ft. Some have mezzanines, and uses range from storage to food manufacturing to light retail … it’s any business use really, except for those which will cause a disturbance to the others. So if it was a car paint sprayer, for instance, that doesn’t sit very well with roasted nuts!’
The tenants are a diverse and fascinating mix. As well as the worldwide-shipping of bespoke crochet hooks, and Dorset-made chilli sauces and preserves, there’s MJB, a precision engineering firm. There’s a commercial cotton tent specialist who sells and hires tents across Europe, and a backpack designer creating ultra-light custom bags for expedition teams, who works a few doors down from where Olives Et Al do their nut roasting.
Danny, from Branded Autocare Ltd, offers dry ice cleaning for classic and supercars: ‘Some of those cars are worth hundreds of thousands – and very low slung’ he says. ‘You don’t want them coming down a rickety gravel track or over speed bumps. Here it’s tidy, safe and professional. That matters.’
‘The diversity is incredible,’ says Chris. ‘It’s what we love about it. These are real, innovative businesses.’
Not for flipping
Tenancy agreements are deliberately simple – easy-in, short-term leases without break clauses or complex renewals.
‘We want to make it easy for people to say yes,’ says Colin. ‘And if it’s working, we’ll make sure they can stay.’
Chris and Colin visit regularly, at least once a month, speaking to tenants, and helping to foster a sense of community. ‘It’s a business relationship, of course,’ says Colin, ‘but at the end of the day, people want to deal with somebody that they know, who they can meet and talk their issues through.’
That approach is paying off. One unit has just become vacant. Plans are in place for additional 10ft containers to give home-based startups an easy entry point, and the pair are exploring additional lightweight modular structures to meet demand. On the wider North Dorset Business Park businesses include Screwfix, Olives Et Al and Sturminster Newton Building Supplies. There’s talk of weekend events with the tenants – car meets, pop-up food days – to make better use of the site’s community feel.
‘We’re not here to flip the place for profit,’ says Chris. ‘It’s a long-term family investment. We want it to grow – but grow well.’
With wide open spaces, strong local management and an impressively eclectic mix of tenants, River Court is becoming something increasingly rare: a small business park that actually works for small businesses.
NorthDorsetBusinessPark.co.uk
If you’re interested in finding out more, please contact Chris on [email protected]
or call him on 07771 936083
