The latest Southern Homebuilding & Renovating Show, hosted by Centaur Media Plc, which took place from 27-28 June 2015 at Sandown Park, Surrey, experienced a 22 per cent rise in visitors compared to last year, with over 7,630 visitors looking either to build their own home or refurbish their existing property to capitalise on the surging property market.
The successful exhibition featured around 185 local and national companies including Oakwrights, AGA Rangemaster and Dulux Design Service, with 75 per cent of the space for the next event in 2016 already rebooked.
The average spend on a project was within the region of £140,000. In addition, there was a 12 per cent increase in visitors from last year who had a budget of over £500,000 to spend on their projects. 85 per cent of attendees registered at the event to source new products and equipment in the market and find specialist suppliers to help them carry out their projects.
Steve Newbold, managing director of Centaur Home Interest Media, says: ““The outcome of this year’s Sandown Park exhibition is a clear demonstration of a resurgent property and home improvement sector. The increase in visitors points to the fact that, regardless of their location, people are driven by a strong ambition to improve the quality of their living space and invest in their homes. The Centaur Home Interest portfolio is focused on Home Creation and Transformation through quality advice, expertise, specialist products and services. This can be renovation, extensions, conversions and general improvements as well as self-build projects. We are delighted to bring people together and help them to make confident planning and buying decisions at our events.”
Heating, conversions and extensions were key areas of interest at the exhibition with 87 per cent of people seeking out boiler and plumbing services to lower their fuel bills. 65 per cent were keen to remodel their garage, cellar and open up internal spaces to create more room in their property while a further 40 per cent of visitors focused on building either a single or two-storey extension.
Similarly, the show visitor analytics revealed that around 35 per cent of customers were seeking products, services and advice from the kitchen and bathroom sectors. Some 23 per cent of attendees were focused on self or custom building a new home, a two per cent increase compared to last year’s statistics.
A highly popular feature at the event was the Advice Centre, where appointments with architects, planning and financial experts were booked up by visitors seeking specialist guidance for new or live projects. The one-on-one consultations attracted keen self-builders who were eager to progress with their plans in the most efficient ways and required assistance on how to choose the best products and services available on the market.
Dave Timmins, founding director at The Glass Balustrade Co, a company which provides support systems for balconies or terraces, shares his experience: “I’ve exhibited throughout the UK and across the world since the 1970s. The Homebuilding & Renovating Show is by far the best show I’ve ever attended.”
Next year’s show will return to Sandown Park in Surrey from 25-26 June 2016. There are four other exhibitions in the pipeline for 2015 which will be taking place in various regions throughout the UK. For more information on upcoming events, visit www.homebuildingshow.co.uk.
