New figures show property conference clout in driving inward investment
The Leeds City Region LEP attendance at international property conference MIPIM has generated 430 inward investment enquiries and initiated contact between 100,000 investors during the last five years.
New figures reveal that attending MIPIM over the past five years has directly resulted in a significant economic boost to the Leeds City Region economy. This year, it has also led to visits from major Chinese investors and representatives of globally recognised brands.
Attending the conference, which is a mainly private sector-funded event, has put the City Region in contact with more than 100,000 influencers, investors and money managers. Connections have been made through panel discussions, seminars and private one-to-one meetings between senior representatives from both the public and private sector.
This increased interest in the region from international investors has ensured that for the financial year 2016/17, Leeds City Region recorded its most successful year to date in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).
As the UK’s largest City Region outside of London and the South East, Leeds played a leading role in increasing the success of the Yorkshire and Humber region in global professional services organization EY’s 2017 Attractiveness Survey which named it the only region in the Northern Powerhouse to see an increase in its levels of inward investment.
The Department for International Trade’s annual report also showed that Leeds City Region’s levels of investment increased by over a fifth (22%), securing 100 successful FDI projects, creating and safeguarding a minimum of 3,000 jobs.
David Aspin, founder of Munroe K the developer behind the White Rose Office Park development, is a sponsor of the Leeds City Region’s attendance at MIPIM. He said: “I’ve attended the MIPIM property conference for over 25 years and have seen a lot of change over this period. I believe that since the attendance at MIPIM has been organised at a City Region level we are seeing a significant increase in interest from both businesses looking to locate to the region and in my case to White Rose Office Park and also from international investors who are keen to make investments in a location which they see as the ‘next exciting opportunity’.
“I’m proud to be part of the Leeds City Region delegation and I look forward to continuing to highlight the connected ambition of the public and private sectors to the influential international audience of future MIPIMs in order to ensure we can make the City Region achieve its economic ambitions.”
Simon Marshall, joint chief executive at Scarborough International Properties and also a MIPIM sponsor, added: “Scarborough International Properties is currently developing the 1.65 million sq ft second phase of Thorpe Park Leeds with our development partner Legal and General Capital and being part of the City Region’s presence at MIPIM over the last three years has been crucial in helping us to raise awareness about the scheme.
“As a business we’ve partnered with a number of local authorities in the past at the conference and still work with many now to promote our developments such as Middlewood Locks in Manchester and Sheffield DC.
“I believe the strong focus on public private partnership is driving the City Region forward in a progressive and creative way. At Scarborough we believe that the success of the City Region in attracting FDI is inextricably linked to the Region’s united front at conference such as MIPIM.”
Roger Marsh OBE, chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “This latest analysis shows MIPIM has a tremendous impact upon our success as a region at attracting inward investment. I believe it is crucial for us to be part of the conversation at MIPIM and to profile our opportunities to an international audience as if we miss this chance we are doing future generations a disservice, and we will lose out to our competitor city regions in the North, South and West.”
