A Modern Approach to Commercial Letting

Rebranded Brierley & Coe has just launched in West Sussex with plans for an innovative and modern way to assist local businesses. Here, new owners Andrew Coe and Paul Brierley reveal their story…

With over 50 years of combined experience working with clients in commercial real estate, the West Sussex-bred entrepreneurs couldn’t be in a better position to start their own business. Both have reputable backgrounds in the industry, with Andrew running a real estate asset management and investment business for 12 years, and Paul working as Director of Aston Rose – the Commercial Property Consultancy the Partners would later come to buy and rebrand as Brierley & Co.

Andrew told us: “We acquired the southern office business based in Worthing of Aston Rose – a commercial property consultancy headquartered in London, in March 2014 and we continue to operate from the same modern offices at Yeoman Gate, Worthing.

“Both Paul and I have lived in West Sussex from middle school, although we have worked in other locations. We feel that Sussex is a great environment in which to live and work and, having operated locally in the commercial property sector for many years, we’ve built great local business connections here,” he added.

Having a solid base of contacts is an invaluable asset for any start-up company, but finding a market niche is essential. For Paul and Andrew, the market conditions in West Sussex happened to be ripe for the business they had in mind.

“We have emerged from a prolonged recession and are now seeing a noticeable improvement in the commercial letting market. There is a tangible difference in the attitude towards risk both from companies and investors when compared with this time last year,” Andrew said.

The partners timed their acquisition of the business with the market upturn in demand for commercial property, fuelled by a boost in business confidence in Sussex and the South East – as well as the wider commercial property industry, which is in turn heralding a growing industrial warehouse market recovery.

Andrew Coe said: “We’re seeing an increased confidence from a range of different sectors, in particular, logistics and distribution companies whose business comes through the internet.

“Our place in the commercial real estate market is clear to us – we have a very broad range of commercial property skills, experience and knowledge which enables us to provide ‘rounded’ advice to our clients. We believe this is a unique offering.”

Since acquiring Aston Rose, Paul and Andrew have invested heavily in rebranding and innovation in the latest web, property marketing software and cloud-based IT. On April 28, Brierley & Coe was officially launched, providing a full commercial property advice service encompassing sales, leasing, acquisitions, development and property investments.

Andrew explained that their immediate aim for the business is to provide: “Clear, precise and outstanding advice to both corporate and private clients; to offer a professional, innovative and modern approach to agency services; and to expand the client base of the business considerably.”

In the future, they hope to look at adding complementary specialist real estate services to their offer, as they believe that their brand philosophy will fit well in other localities.

While Paul and Andrew bring a vast amount of industry expertise to their start-up, they admit that the road has not always been smooth: “There are many challenges to setting up a business,” said Andrew, “Including timetable, competition, finance and getting things done on time and so on. One of the challenges that all new businesses face is remaining focused on delivering your vision for the business without compromising.”

The partners have successfully combined their industry knowledge, skills and client base to establish a forward-thinking commercial lets agency.

To contact Paul or Andrew, call their Worthing office on 01903 372000, or visit them at Brierley & Co, Yeoman Gate, Yeoman Way, Worthing.