David calls time on 45-year career in commercial property consultancy

A commercial property professional who helped forge the business landscape of Bournemouth and Poole has retired after a 45-year career.

Chartered surveyor David Cowling, 68, called time on his working life in Dorset, which began when he uprooted from Yorkshire in 1981, with a farewell party attended by clients and colleagues.

Many corporate and private clients instructed David during his time at Cowling & West, a commercial property consultancy he co-founded in 1985 with Simon West.
The pair joined Vail Williams in 2021 upon the merger between the two firms, with Simon retiring two years ago.

With expertise in property acquisition and disposal, development and investment advice, David played an integral role in the delivery of many of the BCP region’s major projects over the years.

They included Tower Park in Poole, the leisure and retail park, and, in Bournemouth, Wessex Fields Business Park – where Vail Williams’ Bournemouth office is – and Castlepoint retail park.

David’s first deal in 1982 was selling a development site in the market town of Ringwood, on the Hampshire-Dorset border, on behalf of a private client.

Monmouth Court comprises retail premises and offices, with David subsequently instructed on the lettings.

His last ‘bookend’ deal was a letting in May at Holes Bay in Poole – the latest in a series of occupancy deals David had provided over the years for the freeholder of the two-storey warehouse with offices.

One of David’s clients has been with him for more than 30 years, testament to his professionalism and delivery for commercial property landlords.

Surveying is in David’s blood – his grandfather in South Yorkshire owned a family-run consultancy, with David getting a degree in surveying at what was then Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham.