Wasps aims to set MIPIM buzzing about Coventry

Matt Symons, Nick Eastwood and Chris Bell

Coventry and Warwickshire is set to create a buzz at next month’s MIPIM international property exhibition by using the lure of Wasps to attract international business to the Ricoh Arena.

Wasps and the Ricoh Arena have signed up to support the city and county’s offer at the exhibition, which is the largest commercial property development and investment show in the world.

The intention is to bring more large-scale events to the area, especially in the run up to the 2021 UK City of Culture.

The former captain of the rugby club, Chris Bell – who is now Head of Partnership Delivery for the Wasps Group – will be joined by first team player Matt Symons at the four-day show in Cannes.

They will be helping to promote the area to possible inward investors, using their successful move to Coventry as an example of the help available to businesses looking to locate in the region, but also leveraging the arena’s offer as a venue capable of staging major events.

Nick Eastwood, chief executive, Wasps Group, said: “We host around 850 events a year at the Ricoh Arena and they range from small business meetings through to corporate conferences, and from exhibitions to 38,000-capacity concerts so we can cater for a very wide variety of events.

“We believe that ability plus our proximity to Birmingham Airport and location in the centre of the country makes us perfect for more international business and that is something we are looking to build at the Ricoh Arena.

“MIPIM gives us the perfect stage to do that, and Chris and Matt will be selling that strong point to the international audience which attends.”

He said Coventry and Warwickshire as a whole had really upped its game in terms of events. Winning the UK City of Culture 2021 – which the group had sponsored since the bid’s earliest days – would make a huge difference to the perception and profile of the city, he added.

Events such as Godiva Festival and Motofest draw six-figure crowds from around the country and have also been held up as examples of the kind of thing the city can stage successfully.

“That is something the city and the county has to build on and we are happy to play our part in that. The success of our move to Coventry is now well known, rugby has very strong roots in the property industry and we are only too happy to tell the audience just how good the move to this part of the country has been for us,” he added.

Les Ratcliffe, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Champions, which helps support the presence at MIPIM, said: “Wasps are the perfect ambassadors for the area and are a big draw at MIPIM, and their advocacy of the area as a business destination sends a very powerful message on many levels.”

Coventry & Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership is made up of around 20 private sector companies and organisations who help finance the area’s presence at the four-day event. Coventry and Warwickshire is part of a large Midlands UK delegation at the show which attracts around 30,000 industry professionals.M

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