Inward investment coup as key site selectors head to Brum
A GROUP of the world’s leading experts on investment locations are to visit Birmingham in a move that is being viewed as highly significant by city marketing chiefs.
The visitors – from the US and Europe – will be arriving in Birmingham at the end of this month to see for themselves the city’s potential for business investment.
The ten site selectors advise global companies on where to locate their operations.
Their visit has been organised by the city’s inward investment programme Business Birmingham as part of its efforts to attract overseas investment. The event involves more than 20 Birmingham companies and public sector bodies.
One of the delegates is Will Hearn, director of Site Dynamics and CH2M HILL, who is based in the US. He said: “As an ambitious, growing city, I am interested to see Birmingham for myself. Its new developments, infrastructure investments and regeneration projects demonstrate that the city is creating innovative and accessible spaces for global companies to consider.
“I’m looking forward to learning more about Birmingham and what it can offer to the businesses I work with.
“A growth area for my firm is in life sciences. I’m interested in learning more about Birmingham’s universities and academic links to research as well.”
The site selectors will meet businesses in the sectors which Birmingham is promoting, such as digital media and life sciences, and will learn about the financial and practical support Business Birmingham and its partners make available to companies looking to invest in the city.
Their tour includes visits to The Kettleworks and Longbridge, two sites based within the city’s new economic zones. Delegates will also attend a presentation about the £150m Beorma Quarter regeneration scheme by Kuwaiti developer Salhia, while Altitude and Argent are showcasing the £450m makeover of Paradise Circus.
And they will attend a dinner hosted by DLA Piper which has Andy Street, chair of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP, as its keynote speaker.
Wouter Schuitemaker, investment director at Business Birmingham, said: “This event is a great opportunity to put Birmingham in the shop window.
“We understand that Birmingham is the first European city to host a site selectors visit of this scale, which demonstrates its appeal to overseas companies and the ambition of this city to drive the UK’s economic recovery.”
