Lancashire Ramps Up Presence At MIPIM International Expo With Investor Engagement Programme
County to use four-day global property event to showcase region’s sector strengths, commercial opportunities and massive investment potential
The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has announced details of the county’s largest ever presence at MIPIM International, the property and investment conference held annually in Cannes, France.
It is anticipated that over 25,000 delegates will attend the expo which runs March 12th-15th. These include potential investors, developers, property agents and policy makers drawn from across the globe.
As in previous years the Lancashire delegation will be part of Greater Manchester’s MIPIM Partnership. However, this year the Lancashire consortium has also booked an exclusive venue adjacent to the main MIPIM site where they will host a series of invitation-only events, meetings and networking opportunities.
This includes a VIP dinner on Monday March 11th, sponsored by national law firm Shoosmiths, which will feature a Lancashire-inspired menu prepared by Hipping Hall head chef – and BBC Masterchef the Professionals finalist – Oli Martin.
A second evening event, sponsored by Conlon Construction and Anderton Gables, will take place the following night, while the Eric Wright Group is supporting a business lunch on Wednesday March 13th.
Also on Wednesday 13th, the Lancashire LEP will be hosting a special Northern Powerhouse reception set to be attended by representatives of other major Northern conurbations.
The theme of the Northern Powerhouse is also set to be the focus of a combined Northern LEPs discussion panel on the morning of March 14th. This is being held in partnership with the government-funded ‘council of the North’, the NP11
In addition to Lancashire, other North West LEPs participating in the panel include Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and Cheshire & Warrington. Yorkshire and the North East will also be represented at the event with Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle city-regions all also taking part.
On the same morning Lancashire will be partnering with the Cheshire & Warrington LEP to host a breakfast session which will specifically focus on maritime and waterfront economies, sponsored by international engineering consultants WSP.
Lancashire’s 2019 MIPIM engagement programme will be officially rounded-off by a Lancashire Ambassadors’ brunch event, also on Thursday March 14th.
The occasion, which will be attended by the county’s first Lancashire Ambassador Andrew Flintoff, will be used as a platform to help recruit more high-profile Lancastrians from within the property and investment sectors who will go on to act as champions for the region.
David Taylor, Chair of the Lancashire LEP, said: “This will be our third visit to MIPIM International and once again we have aligned ourselves to our near neighbours Greater Manchester and the wider Northern Powerhouse initiative.
“We can also see the strategic benefits of working more closely with areas like Cheshire & Warrington where we have shared interests, such as maximising the commercial opportunities offered by the maritime sector on the North West coast.
“However, we also recognise that with the economic challenges and global competition facing many UK regions Lancashire needs to increase its visibility within the Powerhouse.
“We also want to promote our distinctive character and undertake more direct engagement with potential investors and employers.
“Therefore we have worked closely with Marketing Lancashire, commercial sponsors and other private and public sector partners to develop a programme of events which will allow more one-to-one discussions with key influencers and highlight the fantastic benefits Lancashire has to offer as an investment destination.
In addition to the off-site events Lancashire will be exhibiting within the Manchester Pavilion throughout the MIPIM International expo, highlighting a range of large-scale investment opportunities and major schemes already coming forward.
These will include the Preston and South Ribble City Deal, the county-wide Lancashire Advanced Manufacturing Energy Cluster (LAMEC), the proposed Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at Samlesbury, UCLan’s Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC) in Preston, Lancaster University’s Health Innovation Campus (HIC) and the proposals for Morecambe’s Eden North development.