Bruton Knowles, national property consultancy, and Cardiff Business School spearheaded the debate on ‘What makes South Wales so special’ at the school’s latest Breakfast Briefing event, held on Tuesday 17th December 2019. 

The Briefing, sponsored by Bruton Knowles, was attended by business leaders from across the South Wales region. The 90-minute session explored and assessed why businesses want to invest and grow in the region, what existing factors make South Wales special, and how to further develop the region in the future.

There were a number of key speakers at the event, including: Clare Taylor, Associate Town Planner at Bruton Knowles, Heather Myers, CEO of South Wales Chamber of Commerce and Ken Poole, Head of Economic Development at Cardiff Council.

Nick Worman, Senior Associate and Social Housing Expert at Bruton Knowles, who is based at the property consultancy’s Cardiff office said: “Bruton Knowles is committed to supporting businesses across the region. Sponsorship of Cardiff Business School’s Breakfast Briefing provided us with a fantastic opportunity to meet and hear the views of the South Wales business community. Bringing businesses together is vital if we are to all drive the region forward. 

“South Wales is a real focus for growth and investment. Our role at Bruton Knowles, is to help with key investment decisions. None more so that when it comes to the planning process. 

“My colleague, Clare Taylor, Associate Town Planner, spoke to businesses at the Breakfast Briefing about how the planning process can help steer the right investment to the right location in South Wales. Clare covered the relationship between planning and economic development, the planning process, and the role of economic development in sustainable placemaking to create coherent and connected developments with an appropriate character and sense of space.”

Sarah Lethbridge, Director of Executive Education at Cardiff Business School, said: “Our Breakfast Briefings bring together practitioners from business and charities, policy makers, the media and academia to think about the things that make our world work. Things like tax and tech, finance and fibre optics, construction and capital, investment and innovation. 

“For me, the exciting bit comes when opportunities develop from the briefings. Opportunities to work together, to collaborate and to make a difference. Cardiff connections, if you like. They’re what we’re all about.” 

‘What’s so special about South Wales?’ took place on Tuesday 17th December at Cardiff Business School Postgraduate Teaching Centre (Executive Education Suite), Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff CF10 3EU.