Dock Head Road, Chatham

A Personal Message to Our St Mary’s Island Clients and Residents

As many of you will know, Dockside acquired Island Homes in 2024 with a clear commitment: to preserve a dedicated estate agency service for the residents of St Mary’s Island and continue the relationships that had been built within the community over many years.

When we acquired the business, it had already experienced several operational and commercial challenges. Without intervention, there was a real possibility that St Mary’s Island could have lost a long-established local estate agency altogether.

Since taking over, we have invested significant time, resources, and expertise into stabilising the business, improving systems, supporting staff, and ensuring that residents continued to receive the service they deserved. Our intention has always been to protect local jobs, maintain continuity for existing clients, and create a sustainable future for the business.

Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the continuing rise in operating costs, staff wages, business rates, and utility expenses means that maintaining the current premises is no longer financially viable.

This has not been an easy decision. We understand that for many residents the office has been a familiar part of the Island, and we recognise the importance of having trusted local experts available when moving home, letting a property, or simply seeking advice.

The estate agency industry has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. Today, successful estate agencies are no longer defined by the size or location of their high street office. Instead, success comes from knowledgeable local people, exceptional customer service, market leading exposure through platforms such as Rightmove and Zoopla, and technology that allows us to communicate faster and more effectively than ever before.

With this in mind, we are relocating our operations to an office within the Dockside Shopping Centre. This office will continue to provide dedicated support to the residents and property owners of St Mary’s Island, while allowing us to invest more resources into our people, technology, and marketing rather than maintaining an increasingly expensive office.

Most importantly, while our location may be changing, our commitment to St Mary’s Island is not! We remain passionate about helping local people sell, let, and manage their properties, and we look forward to continuing to serve the community for many years to come.

We will be sharing more information about our plans and enhanced services in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your continued support, trust, and loyalty.

Spencer Fortag – Director