Awards
Published: June 10, 2024 | Updated: 10th June 2024
Hampshire businesses and individuals triumphed at this year’s South Coast Property Awards.
Successes on the night included:
The winners across 15 categories were chosen from an impressive list of nearly 60 finalists.
Independent judges helped ensure the selection process was thorough and fair.
The seventh annual awards brought together developers, agents, planners, consultants, property lawyers and dealmakers to recognise the achievers.
Highlighting a notable recent trend, Richard Thompson, Chief Executive at The Business Magazine, which staged the awards, said: “Companies are becoming used to new ways of working, with technology bearing the strain for the hybrid working practices of most businesses.
“The move from fully remote working has meant a need for flexible, high-quality office space resulting in the significant growth of that market.”
The awards’ headline sponsor was Amiri Construction.
The other sponsors were AECOM, Lester Aldridge, MSP Capital, Cobweb Solutions, South Coast CPS, LGCS Fitout, The Escape, Eddisons incorporating Daniells Harrison, Blake Morgan, Gracelands and SHW.
In addition, Moore Barlow sponsored the drinks reception and event programmes.
This year’s charity was Hannah’s Holiday Home Appeal, which supports children’s oncology wards by providing families with free holiday breaks. On the night, generous donations totalled over £3,400.
Comedian Simon Evans hosted the proceedings.
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Hampshire successes were:
Commercial Landlord of the Year – sponsored by Eddisons incorporating Daniells Harrison
Winner: Portsmouth City Council, Lakeside North Harbour
“We focus on three things: wellbeing, our community and the environment. People expect more from their workplace than just being somewhere to work. They want to be excited about coming to work and we offer lots of activities to bring our community together. On the environment side, we are installing a solar panel car park canopy that will provide at least 6% of the energy on site when fully installed. This is a major project by Portsmouth City Council to hit its 2030 net zero target.” Emma Parkin, Marketing Manager, Lakeside North Harbour
Property Law Firm of the Year – sponsored by Goadsby
Winner: Lester Aldridge
“About one-third of our business is property: we’re one of central south’s largest real estate practices. Around a third of this work is real estate finance, which is a growth area for us. We are also building up our specialism in affordable homes. As part of our drive to be one of the best employers in the area, we appointed a Head of People to help make sure employees have everything they need. The last year has seen a tough market but it has been really good for us and we are looking to grow by more than 10% next year.” Mark Benham, Head of Real Estate, Lester Aldridge
Property Agency of the Year, Commercial – sponsored by Cobweb Solutions
Winner: Lambert Smith Hampton
“The most important thing to us is advising clients on how to maximise the value of their assets. With over 50% market share, we have the experience and knowledge to do this. There have been some challenges in the last year, with uncertainty over the economy, the cost-of-living crisis and high energy prices, but the south coast has always been quite resilient.” Elise Evans, Director, Lambert Smith Hampton
Property Agency of the Year, Residential – sponsored by Cobweb Solutions
Winner: Charters
“We have a large and growing property portfolio and use innovative technology to manage it. We developed our own software, FixFlow, to help tenants in areas like regulatory requirements. Being a trusted ally to clients is important to us. A testament to that is the number of five-star reviews we receive from customers. It has been a fantastic year for us, especially with mortgage rates coming down in January and February, although they haven’t come down as much since then. But an early general election is good for us and we see the rest of the year positively as house prices are on the up again.” George Long, Managing Director, Land & New Homes, Charters
Architectural Practice of the Year – sponsored by The Escape
Winner: Snug Architects
“The judges said we are diverse and versatile in our projects. I think that’s because me and my business partner, Ben, are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to skillsets and this runs through the practice. We ‘design’ and we ‘do’. We are focused on ESG and I think it is getting easier to be because regulations have caught up with aspirations. And we are people focused – we work hard to engage with end users of buildings, for example, through workshops. You need to have a lot of empathy with end users.” Paul Bulkeley, Design Director and founder, Snug Architects
Commercial Development of the Year – sponsored by South Coast CPS
Winner: Langstone Park – XLB Property
“Langstone Park consists of four units that are designed to BREEAM Excellent standards. Solar panels on the roofs are a phenomenal benefit. On the south coast demand for commercial property outstrips supply. The problem institutional developers face is getting hold of land but when you do, there is massive potential to achieve your return on investment.” Elise Evans, Director, Lambert Smith Hampton
Property Deal of the Year – sponsored by Blake Morgan
Winner: Disposal of Units 1&2 Strategic Park, Southampton – Realest
“These were two vacated units at Strategic Park of 58,000 and 67,000 square feet. We project managed their refurbishment, handled planning advice and dealt with the lettings. Unit 1 saw SailGP move its manufacturing activity here from New Zealand, which brought jobs to the area. Unit 2 involved Oil Spill Response relocating its manufacturing from the centre of Southampton. The project justified investors carrying out the multi-million-pound refurbishment by being rewarded with immediate income.” Adrian Whitfield, Director, Realest
Fast Rising Property Business of the Year – sponsored by MSP Capital
Winner: Ridge and Partners
“Our rapid growth in the last 12 months is based largely around our Winchester office, which has expanded by about 20-25%. Growth is being driven by the group of people there and their attitude. It’s about carefully selecting people with the right mindset and strategically planning your business model around them and your client base, making sure they all fit together. We expect further growth, especially after the general election. We’re seeing a positive outlook for the future in the market and in feedback from clients.” James McCulloch, Partner, Ridge and Partners
Sustainable Development of the Year – sponsored by Barratt Developments
Winner: Hope Street – Snug Architects
“Hope Street is a pioneering new facility that provides an alternative to a custodial sentence for women in the justice system, commissioned by the charity One Small Thing. The use of Cross Laminated Timber for the superstructure gave substantial embodied energy savings, delivering a 75% reduction in embodied carbon. As a result, there were significant fire-related challenges that needed to be overcome. We are incredibly proud to have delivered a ‘first of its kind’ trauma-informed building that is changing the justice system, while also achieving a BREEAM Outstanding rating.” Paul Bulkeley, Design Director and founder, Snug Architects
The Mark Vincent Lifetime Achievement Award – sponsored by Amiri Construction
Winner: Tony Boyle – Boyle & Summers
“I was thrilled to be nominated for and to win for this award. In the last 27 years in the Solent and south coast region, I have worked with some amazing people and alongside some incredible colleagues.” Tony Boyle, Director and Co-founder, Boyle & Summers
