Over 1,000 property professionals gather for South Coast CPS 2024

South Coast CPS 2024 has cemented its reputation as the South Coast’s premier platform for property, investment, and development.

Held at the St. Mary’s Stadium, the event brought together over 1,000 attendees, 99 expert speakers, and countless opportunities to shape the future of the region’s property landscape.

The vibrant atmosphere at the stadium reflected the strength of partnerships across various sectors. Key event spaces were named after sponsors, highlighting their vital support: the Mike Channon Room for MSP Capital, the FORTH FM Zone, Omega- RE Boardroom, 1885 Jackson Rowe, Cepro Room, AXIS House CPD Lounge, and the Gracelands Lounge.

The Business Magazine was media partner of the event.

Driving Regional Growth and Innovation

Lucy Richmond, co-founder of South Coast CPS, expressed her pride in the event's achievements and outlined an ambitious vision for the platform: “Together, we are building South Coast CPS into a platform that positions our region as the go-to destination for showcasing development and investment opportunities. By uniting our efforts, we aim to spotlight the region’s growth, profile its unparalleled opportunities, and attract talent and investment directly to us. Our mission is clear: to grow South Coast CPS into the ultimate hub for development, investment, and innovation—closing the skills gap, fostering collaboration, and driving economic growth. Let’s show the world why the South Coast is the place to be.”

Tackling Urban Development and New Towns

South Coast CPS 2024 brought renewed focus to large-scale development and the future of urban spaces, tackling topics such as sustainable housing, regeneration, and urban planning.

New Towns and Large-Scale Development: Experts from CBRE, Taylor Wimpey, and VIVID explored strategies for creating sustainable housing communities and balancing growth with environmental considerations.

Urban Regeneration Workshops: Discussions highlighted innovative projects in Southampton and the Talbot Quarter in Bournemouth, addressing how urban areas can evolve to meet the demands of modern living, sustainability, and economic growth.

Insightful Sessions Shaping the Future

The conference tackled a range of pressing issues and opportunities in the property, investment, and development sectors. Highlights included:

Patrick Scanlon (CoStar): An exclusive analysis of the South Coast property market, covering trends across office, industrial, and retail sectors.

Bank of England Briefing:

The Bank presented an economic overview, highlighting inflation stabilization efforts and moderate growth forecasts.

Andrew Holder, the Bank’s Agent for Central Southern England, shared key insights:

“The Bank of England is taking decisive action to ensure inflation returns to the 2% target, reducing cost-of-living pressures and supporting businesses to invest and create jobs. While supply chain challenges and energy costs remain significant drivers, our monetary policy tools are focused on stabilising the economy and encouraging sustainable growth.”

Unlocking Southampton’s Potential: Insights from Gavin Hall, Tom Venables (Prior + Partners), and Stephen Haynes (Southampton City Council) on investment-ready projects.

Sustainability in the Built Environment: Experts from Prologis, Arup, and Moore Barlow discussed ESG integration and green leasing.

Record-Breaking Engagement

The South Coast CPS app revolutionized attendee engagement, recording over 135,880 interactions. The platform facilitated networking, feedback, and easy access to event content, ensuring high levels of participation.

Event Highlights

Forth FM Room:

Lightning Safety Systems presented remote monitoring innovations.
Kendra Energy Solutions showcased Net Zero analytics.
Greener Futures explored solar energy savings.
Trends in the Industrial Market’ panel at the South Coast CPS alongside industry experts Bryony Thompson Vail Williams , David McGougan, Greg Lukasiewicz, Tony Boyle, Tim Hook ABP all hosted by George Cook.

Construction Build Forward Alliance: – Procurement Insights

Bridging the Skills Gap in Property and Construction: Funding, Training, and Industry Solutions- Cliff Kinch, Morgan Sindall addressed the skills gap with Daniel CLeary, CEO Gracelands, Liz Steel (CITB) and Chris Green (Redbridge Community School), Andrea Parker, CITB, Kat Jenkins Portsmouth University

Resilience & Innovation on the South Coast brought together leading voices to explore how the built environment can meet the evolving demands of the region’s top growth sectors.

Feedback

Matthew Hill, Economic Development & Regeneration Directorate for Place at Southampton City Council, commended the event:

“The team have pulled it off again. Another fantastically curated conference, for us all to enjoy and benefit from. Great to see the event, and so many from the sector, in Southampton. The thought going into the quality of the panel sessions, roundtable discussions, and the pre-conference networking events ensured that the conference was a great success. We all witnessed lots of great discussions with the involvement of industry leaders. The new format, with additional elements on housing and regeneration, complemented the commercial property sessions perfectly. The need for everyone to come together and champion the South Coast’s offer is undeniably clear.”

Nigel Soloman, CEO of Bennington Green Ltd., added: “Well done Lucy, Nella, and the team. A superb, well-organized, and well-coordinated event with a broad range of relevant topics, knowledgeable panelists, and excellent networking opportunities. This is truly an event to rival UKREiiF! I can’t even begin to imagine the effort it took to bring it all together. Looking forward to November 2025!”

Peter Taylor, Senior Partner at Paris Smith LLP, shared his feedback on the event: "I sincerely hope that you each woke up this morning with broad grins on your faces and a huge sense of satisfaction. You both, along with your small team, delivered the most amazing event yesterday for the region. Your ability to ensure that so many key decision makers and stakeholders were in the building, that such an inspiring range of seminars and talks was on offer to the delegates is simply mind-blowing, along with the many connections that were made. I know that these events do not just happen but take enormous dedication, long hours, and organisation—all for the benefit of others and the wider region as a whole. I take my hat off to you both. A huge thank you on behalf of all the business community in the central South."