MIPIM 2013: City investment under the spotlight
AS the competition between locations to attract international investment grows stronger, Birmingham will be outlining how it is creating opportunities for investors and unlocking new developments at MIPIM.
The city is looking to build on recent success, having attracted a near 40% increase in inward investment projects during 2011/12 against a national decline of 2%. It is also focused on ensuring that major developments such as Arena Central and Paradise Circus proceed despite a challenging climate.
Birmingham’s delegation will be outlining innovative ways to obtain investment for regeneration and developments during MIPIM, which is attended by nearly 20,000 international investors and business leaders. This will range from the finance secured for its infrastructure, to the city’s strong record in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).
Birmingham will invest more than £63bn in its residents, businesses and infrastructure until 2020. This includes large-scale transport projects such as the £17bn HS2 rail line and £65m runway extension at Birmingham Airport.
Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, commented: “Birmingham is financing its future. The investments we are making in the city will be felt for generations to come. We have an ambitious programme of new developments and regeneration underway, to grow Birmingham’s economy and connect its businesses more closely with the rest of the world.
“During the current economic climate, we are taking the opportunity to do something different – using public sector mechanisms to secure funding for the private sector. This commitment will enable Birmingham to finance new developments and expand our infrastructure.”
The redevelopment of Paradise Circus will be showcased to potential investors at MIPIM as an example of how collaboration between the public and private sectors can help to finance new schemes. Paradise Circus has secured investment through Birmingham’s Enterprise Zone, with the city borrowing against an expected uplift in business rates generated within the Zone.
Birmingham will also highlight how it is using financial incentives to attract overseas investment. Businesses moving into its new economic zones could benefit from access to loans and gap funding for new developments – while companies locating in the city centre Enterprise Zone will be entitled to up to £275,000 business rates relief over five years.
The city is already attracting more FDI projects than ever before. International companies making statements of confidence in Birmingham include automotive giant Jaguar Land Rover, which is expanding its facility in Castle Bromwich and will be joining the city’s MIPIM delegation. Interstate Hotels & Resorts, a global hotel management company based in the US, announced this month that it is opening a new office in the city centre.
Despite cost pressures facing the cities that are attending MIPIM, the event is still viewed by partners as an invaluable opportunity to secure business leads and target international investors.
Nigel Mason, managing partner at cost and property consultant Rider Levett Bucknall, explained: “There is no substitute for meeting face-to-face with the property experts and investors who attend MIPIM. Rider Levett Bucknall has secured a number of projects as a result of discussions started at the conference and considers it an essential part our event calendar.”
