A bespoke building service from Unique Build

A perfect fit

In a world driven crazy by globalisation it should come as no surprise that the whole concept of ‘buy local’ has found its place at every level. It no longer means just food, it now covers the way we buy almost everything, a fact that is at the heart of Unique Build’s business.

Unique Build was started by Kieron Hatton and Rich Tai-Chidlow in January 2006. At the beginning they focused on general carpentry but with Kieron’s background experience in shop fitting it seemed a logical move for the company to make. Rich had a management background but decided to retrain in carpentry. They started to work for a company who did all the Seaside and Zel Grain refurbishments in Brighton and also to do more management of building projects like Zizi at Brighton Marina but not initially under their Unique Build brand. It was all excellent experience.

“We are very much a bespoke service and supply the whole service from planning, design and permissions to finished, painted and decorated”

Now, as well as handling commercial property refurbishments and re-fits they also work on domestic projects, loft conversions and extensions, and they set a very high standard. When asked about price their response is simple: “If finding a cheap solution is the customer’s main concern then we are probably not the right firm. We are very much a bespoke service, we work with one architect and supply the whole service from planning, design and permissions to finished, painted and decorated.”

Projects that Unique build have undertaken include, Pub du Vin, Moshi Moshi, Sussex Funerals, Sugacube, Uniquely You, Pearls Bubble tea and Gelato Gusto which is pictured here. “Gelato Giusto was a massive project,” Kieron says.
“The site was ideal but once we started work we discovered that major building works were required. Fortunately we had the experience and the team of professionals to handle that and still deliver to a deadline. It’s often about speed and deadlines with shop fits but we also have to maintain our own very high standards. “We are very much a local business working with other local businesses. We like to get involved with the design, working closely with the clients to achieve their ideal. But equally we are not put off by clients who are unsure of what they want – we have experience and we can advise.

“The big shop-fitting companies just get a set of drawings, go in and do just that,” Kieron continues. “We think as we go, and we can certainly help local businesses achieve what they want and on a budget, cutting overheads without ever cutting standards. We can achieve and create things on a smaller scale too and offer a more bespoke service. We always work onsite with local craftsmen and builders, always using specialists, getting the right person for the right part of the job. We helped John at Gelato Gusto, advising him on the building and pointing out the extent of rebuild required before he signed a lease, but the location was perfect for what he wanted to do. We also sourced things for the shop for him – we like to go that extra mile to make sure a client is happy.

“Most of our work comes to us by referral – and we don’t stop until a customer is happy. In the future we want to do more shop-fitting work, for small businesses like us who enjoy working with a local firm, we don’t want to expand because then we will lose that personal service. We work with a regular sub contracted team and use no agency staff, just our close team of trusted professionals.”

Unique Build’s approach to business is compact, professional and utterly committed to the concept of keeping things local, an ideal that more and more of us want to embrace.

Unique Build, 07977 001 488,
uniquebuild@mac.com, www.uniquebuild.co.uk
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