Sibbett Gregory

THE Daily Echo and Advertiser has a new office in the centre of Poole.

THE Daily Echo and Advertiser has a new office in the centre of Poole.
The premises, at 85 Dolphin Centre, is located on the ground floor adjoining the entrance doors between the Post Office and Primark store.

Daily Echo managing director Mike Wright said: “We wanted a strong presence in Poole, in a good location which was convenient for our customers. With the old offices in Lower High Street being re-developed for residential purposes, we contacted Poole-based commercial Property Agents Sibbett Gregory for help. The company has a particularly thorough knowledge of the area and wasted no time in finding us the ideal place for a town centre newspaper. It suits us perfectly. It’s easy and convenient and right in the heart of Poole.”

The office has external frontage measuring 17ft and internal space in excess of 500sq ft.
The tenure is arranged as a sub-underlease which expires in March 2015. It is just one of several regional Daily Echo and Advertiser offices serving the community in this area, with a head office in Bournemouth. While the Advertiser has been in existence since the early 1960s, The Daily Echo has rolled off the presses for more than a century. Even today the local community lies at the heart of its existence. Poole Office manager Steve Turner is urging people to visit the new premises, and looks forward to welcoming back his ‘host of regular visitors’. He said: “With the High Street office closed, we have been essentially out of action for six months. People would come in daily and weekly for their papers, and traders and public would come in personally to place adverts. “In our new location, customers can also place photographic orders and buy special publications from us, such as the newly published Coast book.”

Four staff will be on reception while four reporters will provide an editorial point of contact. “People might want to come in to speak to one of our journalists, or simply want to announce the birth of a grandchild in the paper,” Steve continued. “And, as we are so close to the bus station in Poole, visitors no longer have to trek all the way down the High Street to find us.”

Stephen Coles from Sibbett Gregory said: “We were pleased to continue our strong links with the community by finding the Echo and Advertiser a high street location which was also economically viable. We wish the new office every success. The Daily Echo and Poole itself have an interesting history, and 2008 will see a new chapter opening.”