George Clarke and Wayne Hemingway to headline major Sutton Coldfield business event

Architect and TV presenter George Clarke and renowned designer and entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway MBE will take to the stage in Sutton Coldfield next month as part of a high-profile event bringing together business, property and placemaking.

Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield Business Improvement District (BID) has announced plans for its fourth major speaker event for the 340 businesses it represents across Sutton Coldfield town centre.

George Clarke and Wayne Hemingway will be joined by Sutton Coldfield businesswoman and property expert Sophie Bullock MRICS, founder and director of Aston Knowles Estate Agents and a director of Marwood Surveyors.

Sophie established the premium estate agency in 2014, operating from the landmark clock tower building on Sutton Coldfield High Street, and brings first-hand experience of property, entrepreneurship and investment in the Royal Town.

October’s event will be staged at the 90-year-old ‘Royal Cinema’ in Sutton Coldfield, with the speakers taking to the stage for an evening designed to inspire conversation about entrepreneurship, thriving town centres and the importance of creating places where people want to live, work, visit and invest.

It will be the fourth high-profile speaker event organised for local businesses by Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield BID, following on-stage interviews with retail expert Mary Portas in 2023, entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies in 2024, and businesswoman and Dragons’ Den investor Deborah Meaden in 2025.

The events form part of Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield BID’s wider commitment to supporting Sutton Coldfield’s business community, alongside its work to organise the town’s events, increase footfall, promote the town and local businesses, enhance the town centre and create a stronger trading environment.

George Clarke is one of Britain’s best-known architects and television presenters, known for Channel 4 programmes including George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, The Restoration Man, Old House, New Home and Remarkable Renovations.

Alongside his television career, he is an architect and campaigner for better-designed homes, sustainable living and the positive impact good buildings and places can have on people’s lives.

Joining him will be Wayne Hemingway MBE, whose career combines design with an extraordinary entrepreneurial story.

Together with his wife Gerardine, he turned a small Camden Market venture selling second-hand clothes into Red or Dead, an internationally recognised fashion business with stores in the UK and overseas.

Wayne’s contribution to the evening will explore that journey from market trader to building and selling an international brand, as well as helping to regenerate town centres, using creative placemaking, urban design, events and community-led projects to breathe new life into high streets and public spaces and create places where people want to spend time.

Michelle Baker, Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield BID Manager, said, “We are delighted to once again bring exceptional speakers to Sutton Coldfield for what will be an interesting conversation about business and place.

“George, Wayne and Sophie have very different stories, but all three understand the relationship between successful businesses and successful places.

“After welcoming Mary Portas, Sara Davies and Deborah Meaden over the last three years, we wanted our fourth event to evolve the conversation.

“This will very much be an evening about business, entrepreneurship, thriving town centres and communities. With so much discussion about the future of our high streets and town centres, Business and place feels like exactly the right subject at exactly the right time.”

Pictured from left to right: George Clarke and Wayne Hemingway