THERE’S just 24 hours to go before the Echo-backed South Coast Business Works 2018.

Tomorrow ‘s event, held in conjunction with law firm Trethowans, Destination Southampton and Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, takes place at at St Mary’s Stadium for the first time and will field a strong team.

The keynote speaker is Mike Spicer, director of research and economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, who will

talk about the effect the UK’s exit from the EU will have on the region.

There will also be presentations from Paul Sandcraft, regional director of Aerospace, TW Metals whose presentation will be entitled “39,000 feet up in the air” and Geraint Davies, partner at, Ernst & Young LLP, chairman of the Institute of Directors in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and chairman of the governors of Southampton City College whose subject is a “The South Coast Economy – a case for optimism? ”

Both Mike and Geraint will also be part of the panel at a question and answer session chaired by Lee Peck, chairman of Lee Peck Media.

They will be fielding questions from the floor alongside Simon Rhodes, partner at Trethowans, Annaliese Hughes, director of Delicious Dining and board member of Go! Southampton, Harry Kutty head teacher of Cantell School, Southampton and Robin Shepherd, partner at planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore.

Harry and Robin are late additions to the line-up.

Representing the education sector, Harry is a also a trained Ofsted inspector, governor of a local primary school and vice chair of the Southanpton School Forum.

Robin specialises in mixed-use developments and a has a keen interest in “creation of placees and community engagement”.

Lee Peck said: “It’s one of my favourite engagements of the year as we get to discover first-hand what makes the region tick commercially. With a diverse range of speakers a it’s set to be a wide-ranging and lively debate.”

Among the businesses exhibiting at the event are: Answers Investigation, Basepoint Business Centre, City College Southampton, Costco, Daily Echo, Destination Southampton, ETC Branding, Halo Conference & Events at SFC, Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Hendy Group, HSBC, Lead Forensics, Lee Peck Media, Newsquest DMS, Safetrac, Sirus Telecom, Source for Business, Southampton Solent University, The Ageas Bowl and The Social.

There’s still time to register to attend the event, which runs from 1pm to 5.30pm, by visiting scbw2018.eventbrite.co.uk.