MIPIM 2012: Birmingham highlights surge in hotel building

BIRMINGHAM representatives at the MIPIM real estate and inward investment show in Cannes are to highlight how the city has taken advantage of tax incentives to attract unprecedented private investment into its hospitality sector.

Nearly 30 new hotel developments are in the pipeline in the city.

A delegation including representatives from Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Airport and Business Birmingham will showcase the city’s booming £4.6b visitor economy at the show and will discuss how it has used the Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) to attract a wealth of hotel investments. Recent developments in the city include Premier Inn, Hampton by Hilton and Holiday Inn Express.

BPRA, a tax incentive from the Government that started in April 2007, enables businesses that own, or lease, property that has been vacant for at least a year in designated areas, to claim 100 per cent tax relief on their capital spending on renovating or converting the property to bring it back into business use.

The measure, aided by the growing success of Birmingham’s visitor economy, has boosted the city’s reputation as a tourism destination.

Leader of Birmingham City Council Mike Whitby said: “A record 32.8 million visitors came to Birmingham in 2010 – our fifth successive year of growth – and this boom in both leisure and business tourism is one of the reasons that we have nearly 30 hotels currently at various stages of planning and construction.

“The other key factor driving this expansion is that Birmingham has the right physical and economic environment to attract and support investors. We will be using MIPIM as an opportunity to outline how our city centre Enterprise Zone and Big City Plan are delivering a simplified planning regime that makes profiting from the city’s growing reputation easier for new investors.”

Mark Weaver, managing partner of Rider Levett Bucknall in Birmingham, said: “The tax breaks provided by BPRA have enabled more investors to commit to the renovation of existing properties in Birmingham, influencing the number of hotel developments taking place in the city and providing local employment and business growth opportunities.”

Visit Business Birmingham’s MIPIM page here.

For more stories about Birmingham at MIPIM from TheBusinessDesk.com click here.