Martello Building Consultancy

Martello is a unique, Folkestone-based building consultancy offering one of Kent’s few one-stop-shops for a broad range of architectural and surveying services. The company was set up in October 2011 and started trading in March 2012 to meet a regional market gap as well as offering specific capabilities to meet the needs of building-led regeneration in Folkestone.

Our services are delivered under three headings:
• Architectural Services – the whole package, from feasibility, to planning and delivering the final technical designs.
• Surveying – all the expertise needed to scope and manage projects to completion while achieving maximum value for money.
• Cost Consultancy – estimating and cost planning, financial reporting during the build process, and procurement advice.

To fulfil the vision of creating a business perfect to both support and profit from Folkestone’s regeneration, we brainstormed names and market positioning with contacts in the local creative community. The eventual choice was Martello because of its links with local history, its association with solid physical structures, and its memorability.

Putting the Martello name at the heart of a business plan, we contacted local businesses on our prospect list and asked for feedback on potential logos, choosing the one that the potential clients most liked. Thus we not only gained publicity for our brand development project, but also achieved awareness of and buy in to Martello among the very people we would later become customers.

Martello’s expansion and growing reputation are based on a number of areas where we have genuine competitive advantage:
• Our business model is based on successful nationwide consultancies, but offering a similar range of services at local level, which puts us ahead in our ability to deliver efficiency, innovation and value to clients.
• Location and positioning for Folkestone regeneration – our whole business was founded on the belief that we could make a real difference in our home town. Winning the project to support the Triennial was an important step but not the first, and we’re already involved in next stage of regeneration.
• Our commitment to local contractors – our aim is to hire locally and create other local jobs by using local businesses on our projects. We have the clients to create the need and the local contacts to make it work.
• Our people – we’re a highly skilled, highly qualified team who love what we do and do it really well. We’re confident we can do as good a job as anyone in the country.