In episode three of our third series of Let’s Talk South Coast, host Nella Pang explores how environmental mitigation, strategic investment and smart development practices are shaping the future of the South Coast. She’s joined by Rachel Jones from the Solent Mitigation Partnership, investor Dave Foster, and Lee Merrifield from MSP Capital; for a wide-ranging conversation about unlocking sites, overcoming constraints, and delivering sustainable growth across the region.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• What’s actually happening on the ground in commercial development
• Funding pressures, investor sentiment and changing lending appetites
• The shift towards sustainable, place-led regeneration
• And why great delivery still comes down to strong relationships

Companies & Organisations Mentioned:

• Solent Mitigation Partnership / Partnership for South Hampshire
• Craigard
• MSP Capital
• Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
• Environment Agency
• Local authorities across the Solent
• South Coast Commercial Property Show
• Various South Coast developers and planning authorities

Shoutouts:

• The collaboration between councils, regulators and environmental partners supporting sustainable growth
• Landowners enabling nutrient mitigation and habitat restoration projects
• Investors and developers working to unlock supply across the region

About Our Guests:

Rachel Jones
Solent Mitigation Partnership Manager at the Partnership for South Hampshire, leading strategic environmental mitigation projects that enable development while protecting the Solent’s internationally important habitats.

Dave Foster
Managing Director at Craigard, a specialist investment and asset management company transforming underperforming assets into resilient, income-generating properties across the region.

Lee Merrifield
Commercial Director at MSP Capital, offering expert insight into development finance, viability pressures and the funding challenges shaping which projects can progress.

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In episode two of our third series of Let’s Talk South Coast, host Nella Pang explores two powerful forces shaping the region’s future: devolution and the role of universities in driving economic growth. Recorded live at the South Coast Commercial Property Show, Nella is joined first by Megan Carter, a leading voice in regional governance and devolution, and then by Professor Mark Smith, Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• Devolution and the role of a future Mayor Elect
• How political change could reshape priorities, funding and opportunity
• Why the South Coast must find its collective voice
• What the next generation of talent is really looking for
• The widening skills gap — and the solutions already on the table
• How workplace culture can attract (or repel) the people we need
• What the “future surveyor” might look like by 2030

Companies & Organisations Mentioned:

• University of Southampton
• Southampton Renaissance Board
• Southampton Science Park
• Morgan Sindall (Apprenticeship Levy discussion)
• Portsmouth University (Triple Helix reference)
• Local authorities across Hampshire & the Solent
• South Coast Commercial Property Show
• Various regional investors, occupiers and developers

Shoutouts:

• The businesses and public-sector leaders shaping the South Coast’s future
• The candidates standing for the new mayoral role
• The students, researchers and entrepreneurs driving innovation across the region

About Our Guests:

Megan Carter
A leading figure in regional governance, specialising in devolution, place leadership and long-term investment strategy. Megan champions the importance of local decision-making, strategic collaboration and creating a coherent identity for the Hampshire & Solent region.

Professor Mark Smith
Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton and member of the Southampton Renaissance Board. Mark is driving the university’s Triple Helix Strategy, supporting graduate skills, entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and the development of world-class innovation ecosystems.

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In episode one of our third series of Let’s Talk South Coast, host Nella Pang takes us inside this year’s record-breaking South Coast Commercial Property Show, a day of big ideas, bold collaboration and sector-shaping conversations with Lucy Richmond, the founder of the South Coast CPS Show; Mike Sellers, Port Director at Portsmouth International Port; and Ben Jones from Pagabo, headline sponsors of this year's event.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• How the South Coast Commercial Property Show has grown into the region’s largest property conference
• Why cross-sector collaboration is accelerating opportunities across the South Coast
• The role of purpose-driven events in creating a united regional identity
• How ambitious decarbonisation projects like shore power are reshaping UK maritime infrastructure
• The challenges of grid capacity, energy demand and electrifying complex operations
• Why outcome-led procurement is key to delivering faster, smarter and more sustainable projects
• The opportunities emerging across infrastructure, space, universities and marine industries
• How social value is being embedded into projects to deliver genuine, lasting community impact

Companies & Organisations Mentioned:

• Portsmouth International Port
• Brittany Ferries
• Department for Transport
• Innovate UK
• Southampton Football Club / St Mary’s Stadium
• University of Southampton
• Pagabo
• Morgan Sindall
• British Ports Association
• Portsmouth City Council

Shoutouts:

• The 122 speakers across this year’s show
• The sponsors and exhibitors who brought the energy
• The South Coast business, public sector and education communities for showing up, loudly and collaboratively

About Our Guests:

Lucy
Founder and organiser of the South Coast Commercial Property Show, championing collaboration, regional pride and accessible, purpose-driven events.

Mike Sellers
Port Director at Portsmouth International Port and member of the British Ports Association Council, leading the UK's most innovative port-led decarbonisation projects.

Ben Jones
Regional Manager at Pagabo, specialists in modern, flexible and socially responsible procurement frameworks across the UK.

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In episode nine of our second series of Let’s Talk South Coast, our host Nella Pang is joined by Andy Tourell, Head of Sustainable Logistics at Ocean Infinity

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• Who Ocean Infinity are and what they do
• The ESG targets they have set themselves on decarbonisation
• The projects they have been involved in since pioneering the use of autonomous underwater vehicles
• The fleet of unmanned surface vessels they are currently building and what this means for the future of remote survey operations
• The driver behind reducing the number of people needed to work offshore
• How the technology they are developing has to be able to deliver the services the client wants in order to be sustainable
• How they are building a ship for a clean fuel system that does not yet exist
• Why Ocean Infinity decided to base themselves in Southampton

Companies Mentioned:

• Shackleton’s Endurance
• Seabed 2030
• Future of Work Summit
• National Oceanographic Centre
• Sky Band Rescuer
• Department of Transport, Innovate UK Project
• Code 9 Security

Shoutouts:

• Steve Szalay
• Charlotte Elkins

Key Insights From This Episode:

• We specialise in the development and deployment of innovative tech. And ultimately what we're looking to do is to transform the maritime industry to enable the people and planet to thrive. - Andy
• We have signed the climate pledge, to be net zero by 2040, 10 years ahead of the general target of 2050. - Andy
• We are currently building the world's largest fleet of unmanned surface vessels, and that's the largest fleet in terms of size of the vessel and in the number of vessels. - Andy
• We've committed to remote survey operations from day one, the technology exists to go totally unmanned. But what we need to do, and what we are doing is working very closely with regulators to work towards that transition to complete unmanned operations for that size of vessel. - Andy
• We think that most, if not all activities offshore can be made cleaner, more efficient and/or safer through the deployment of robotics. - Andy

About Our Guest:

Andy is Head of Sustainable Logistics at Ocean Infinity, he is also Sustainability Commission Member at the British Triathlon Federation,

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In episode eight of our second series of Let’s Talk South Coast, our host Nella Pang is joined by ChatGPT to talk about the impact AI and new technologies are having on the future of work and what businesses, government and educators can do to ensure no one is left behind.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• The impact AI is having on the world of work
• How companies are leveraging AI
• The importance of upskilling within an ever changing market
• How companies can benefit from the adoption of AI and other technologies
• Different initiatives that can ensure people have the skills they need to succeed in the job market
• How educators and businesses can collaborate on upskilling the current and future workforce

Companies Mentioned:

• Speechify
• Ocean Infinity
• Future of Work Summit
• Southampton City Council
• NetZero Group
• Carswell Gould
• Otta
• International Women’s Day
• FI Real Estate Management

Key Insights From This Episode:

• AI technology is automating many manual and repetitive tasks leading to job displacement in some areas. However, it's also creating new job opportunities such as data analysis and AI development. - ChatGPT
• By adopting AI and other new technologies, companies can stay ahead of the competition and tap into new business opportunities. - ChatGPT
• My take is that AI won't replace humans, but humans that don't embrace technology are likely to be left behind. - Nella
• We've already started to make headways bringing key businesses as well as social enterprise together. So watch this space. - Nella

Shout outs:

• Andy Tourrell
• Alan Wilson
• Ed Gould

About Our Guest:

Chat GPT is an advanced AI Chatbot.

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In episode seven of our second series of Let’s Talk South Coast, our host Nella Pang is joined by Jonathan Trice, Director at Omega RE to talk about the impact that ESG and EPCs are having on both businesses and consumers.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• What ESG stands for and why it has been hitting the headlines
• How the increase in the level of choice for consumers means they are demanding their ethos is matched by the businesses they interact with
• Why companies are working towards B Corp certification and what it means for consumers
• The growing importance of ESG to investors
• The changes in the demands from tenants on real estate and how to adapt to this
• How the design of buildings is changing to incorporate more break out and collaborative spaces
• The increase Jonathan is seeing in use of sustainable materials and technologies
• Jonathan’s advice on what landlords can do to improve the EPCs
• How developers need to keep in mind their end client when building/renovating especially as they may be limited on what they can invest in based on EPC and ESG requirements

Companies Mentioned:

• Patagonia
• JLL
• Knight Frank
• Halo ARC

Key Insights From This Episode:

• I think from a general society perspective there is a move towards more corporate accountability, where large businesses are having to prove to their customer base that they are fulfilling staff welfare, they're fulfilling their promises on sustainability. - Jonathan
  
  
• B Corp is a certification that companies can get that shows that they have changed or adapted the way that they do business to reflect a, a checklist of, of positive things. - Jonathan
  
  
• If you subscribe to the fact that tenants are your customer base, what the customer is demanding from his real estate is changing and you have to adapt to that. - Jonathan
  
  
• That's what I've noticed the most is you're seeing a lot of things that you would typically associate with office buildings coming through into industrial units and focusing on mainly sustainability. - Jonathan
  
  
• You're certainly seeing in offices a lot more sophisticated building monitoring systems and readouts that show quality of air within the building, how much is being circulated, particularly how much energy the building's consuming, and how that's being mitigated through sustainable features of the building. - Jonathan
  
  
• So I think in order to be truly sustainable and really focused on these things, every decision has to be looked at through a sustainability lens. - Jonathan

About Our Guest:

Jonathan is the Director at Omega RE and has previously worked at both JLL and Knight Frank.

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In episode six of our second series of Let’s Talk South Coast, our host Nella Pang is joined by Alex Blandford, Assistant Principal at UTC Portsmouth to talk about how community technology colleges partner with local businesses to help develop curriculums that instill key skills to the future workforce.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• The different UTC sites and what they are trying to achieve within the local community
• How these colleges are funded
• Their aim to help students to consider the next steps within their careers/education
• How an ageing population and growing skills gap provides an opportunity for students
• The STEM learning habits they teach their students
• Their ambition to bring UTC to Southampton and why Alex thinks this is so important
• Their primary outreach program that works to promote STEM within the local area

Companies Mentioned:

• Lockheed Martin
• NHS
• IBM
• DSTL
• PWC
• Baker Dearing Educational Trust
• https://fi-rem.com/
• Southampton City Council
• GO! Southampton
• Southampton Science Park

Shout Outs:

• James Doherty
• Lord Ken Barker

Key Insights From This Episode:

• There's actually 46 other UTCs, so 47 in total all across the country, and we've all got the same remit in that we are looking to fulfil a shortfall in the local workforce. - Alex
• The easiest way to look at it is we're funded, the same as any other state school. The difference is we are backed by industry partners. - Alex
• We've proved the model works and we've made UTC Portsmouth a real beacon of STEM in the local community. - Alex
• We currently engage with 11 local primary schools and we are really keen to expand that to secondary schools as our outreach program grows. - Alex

About Our Guest:

Alex Blandford is the Assistant Principal at UTC Portsmouth, a specialist STEM College. Prior to this he was Head of Department at Springfield School.

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In episode five of our second series of Let’s Talk South Coast, our host Nella Pang is joined by Ben Ross, Senior Surveyor at ABP to talk about the role that Southampton port plays in bringing investment and economic development to the area and their plans to continue and grow this in the future.

What you’ll hear about in this episode:

• The position Southampton Port is currently in and how they are trying to position themselves for the future
• The 3 core sectors that underpin ABP’s business
• How important the cruise ship business is to Southampton’s economy
• The benefits for businesses exporting goods to be based in Southampton
• The new opportunities for the area with Solent Freeport
• ABP’s commitment to sustainability
• Their current port centric manufacturing developments
• The impact that Brexit and the pandemic had on ABP
• Where Ben sees future investment going

Companies Mentioned:

• ABP
• Marchwood Industrial Estate
• Eling Wharf
• Horizon Cruise Terminal
• Solent Freeport
• Marine and Maritime Institute
• Fawley Power Station

Shout Outs:

• Prof. John Barker

Key Insights From This Episode:

• Southampton is the UK's number one vehicle handling port. So pre-pandemic, and numbers have fallen a little bit since then due to various issues with supply chains, but pre-pandemic, we were handling about 900,000 vehicles per year. - Ben
• There are great opportunities across the port and for the region. In a way, I think Freeport could be seen as the icing on the cake really. - Ben
• ABP is by far the largest landlord within our region, covering over 900 acres of land for commercial and cruise operation with an additional 875 acres for potential port expansion. - Nella
• ABP has cut carbon emissions across the group by over 35% since 2014. - Ben
• We are an export port and primarily we export outside of the EU, so something like 70% of our trade is actually outside the EU. So, I think we've been quite well sheltered from the impact of Brexit. - Ben

About Our Guest:

Ben Ross is a Senior Surveyor at Associated British Ports, the UK’s leading ports group, where he has worked for just over 5 years. Prior to this he was Estates Manager at Marina Developments Ltd.

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