Achievements

GO! Southampton is the Business Improvement District (BID) for Southampton City Centre. It is run by businesses, for businesses. Our mission is to continuously improve the city centre by delivering relevant services, providing a voice for our businesses, influencing strategy and being a catalyst for positive change.

View our Year 10 Business Plan to see the projects for 2026/2027. Visit the ballot page for the Business Plan 2027 – 2032 showing the focus for our 3rd term

See below some of the achievements from 2021 to mid-2026.

Better Marketing

3.3 million+ page views on Visit Southampton since 2022 In 2025 we worked with Southampton City Council to rebuild the Visit Southampton website to attract national and international visitors.

21 marketing campaigns delivered to promote levy payers and increase spend. The Love the Old Town campaign in 2024 and 2025 promoted 60 businesses, achieved a reach of over 1.1 million and circulated 40,000 leaflets to residents.

Business photography service utilised by 40 businesses, enhancing their online presence.

Media coverage. Since 2022, Blakeborough PR has organised 110 trips to Southampton, sent 111 press releases, creating a total media reach of 2.7 billion and a media value of £6.6 million.

325,000 map delivered to transport hubs, hotels, cultural venues, student accommodation and events across the city.

300+ newsletters sent out to over 800 of our business contacts, promoting the latest opportunities and BID news.

Projects showcased below:

  • Southampton visitor maps
  • What’s On totems across the city centre
  • Free family walking trails
  • Christmas in the City campaign
  • Love the Old Town campaign
  • Visit Southampton website

Events

Awarded over £100,000 in grant funding via our Event Sponsorship Scheme, helping over 20 local events organisers deliver 35 small and large events in the city. This scheme aims to increase footfall and dwell time in the city, while also helping Southampton to maintain a vibrant atmosphere.

Thousands of visitors attended our Countdown to Christmas events in the city centre, kickstarting the festive season.

11 free walking trails delivered with over 2,500 groups taking part since 2022. Targeted at families and residents, these trails encourage people to explore the BID area and stay active.

Delivered 19 City Networking events across different venues in the city. Plus over 100 businesses and organisations showcased through speaking, hosting and catering.

Showcased below in images: 

  • Events sponsored by GO! Southampton including Mela Festival and Pride
  • Snow Windows trail
  • Light The South trail sponsored by GO! Southampton
  • Bedford Place Festival sponsored by GO! Southampton
  • City Networking, Horizon Cruise Terminal

Experience

Experience Theme Groups focuses on the look and feel of the area.

55 daytime and 243 night-time exclusion letters issued since 2022 via the Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP)

420+ users and 8,000+ logins per month on the DISC crime reporting portal

200+ BID members on the radio network

£214,607 of stolen stock recovered for BID businesses

National accreditation achieved for Southampton Business Crime Partnership (SBCP) since 2022

Welcomed over 11,700 cruise passengers since the launch of the Welcome Volunteers scheme in 2024. This project won the VisitEngland Tourism Superstar Award 2025 and has expanded to God’s House Tower and tourist walking routes.

100% of hot washes and graffiti reports have been actioned and cleaned within 24 hours on average, including businesses and heritage assets

Showcased in images below:

  • Carlton Place and Oxford Street lights. Part of the long term lighting scheme
  • Purple Flag accreditation/ Paint the Town Purple campaign
  • Annual Big City Clean
  • Signage and information at Southampton Airport
  • Live facial recognition
  • Train station artwork
  • Telephone Boxes in partnership with In Focus
By David Tappenden

Stronger Business

Stronger Business theme group has focused on the business voice for the city centre and showcasing it in the wider city discussions. Below is the concept designs for the Heart of the City contributed by GO! Southampton to support Southampton’s Renascence Vision.

Provided over 880 hours of live training via our Online Training Hub, with BID members completing 214 hours of learning in 2026 alone. Most watched courses include Fire Safety in the Workplace, AI training, GDPR and Employment Rights Act.

Attended 67 recruitment events to promote city centre vacancies and encourage working in the city. The Work in the City campaign expanded t promote jobs at public events and with city stakeholders including DWP.

Over £136,000 saved on core costs by businesses and organisations via our cost reduction services.

Expanded footfall monitoring in 2026 to Ocean and Horizon cruise terminals and partnered with the University of Southampton to analyse data.