A PROPERTY business with a new Southampton office says the city is in an ideal position to attract more businesses.

TFT says the growth of Southampton Airport, the Solent Freeport bid and the regeneration of retail sites are all positive signs.

It says the opening of its regional office rounds off a financial year in which the firm grew by 10 per cent.

The Southampton operation will be led by David Bassett, who previously led south coast instructions from the firm’s London and Guildford offices. The office will also cover Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Brighton.

TFT is a development, built asset, engineering and sustainability consultancy whose recent projects have included St James Quarter in Edinburgh, as well as a recently completed regional office portfolio for HMRC and working with Legal & General as owners of 10 major city centre development and refurbishment schemes across the country.

David Bassett said: “As the TFT lead for South Coast instructions, I’m pleased to establish our Southampton office and expand our scope in the area.

"The growth of Southampton airport and the Solent Freeport bid is putting a strong focus on logistics assets, while the regeneration of retail changes the outlook for local centres and out of town sites”

Alistair Allison, managing partner at TFT, said: “TFT has operated on the South Coast for some time, and opening a new dedicated office here will allow us to work with and invest in the talented people in this area and to offer an unparalleled local service for our new and existing clients to benefit from.

“Post-Brexit and Covid, we predict that new and existing employees – and clients – will look to more non-core office locations, and Southampton is in an ideal position to attract inward movers.

"We have adapted excellently to the hybrid model of working and feel wider geographic coverage will be of real benefit to everybody we work with.

“The firm’s significant growth, in what has been a challenging time for the real estate industry, has helped to drive this new opening, and it can only benefit our major clients in the region.

"What’s also deeply encouraging is that we’ve had a really positive response and uptake from across the industry for sustainability and decarbonisation services. These services are on the rise as businesses reassess how they create and use buildings to meet their targets.”

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