MIPIM 2019: A warm King Goblin ale at the Midlands stand did not impress Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
But on a macro level, the UK regions have captured the imagination of many investors at MIPIM – including Knight, who is planning to build a £500m film studio in Birmingham.
And it is important that the regions step up to capture as much as investment as possible, according to members of EG’s “UK Cities – Partnership Power” panel. They argued that London is no longer the growth powerhouse it once was.
“The country needs the regions to be stronger,” said Deborah McLaughlin, managing director of property consultancy GL Hearn. She added that “cities have realised they have to be investor friendly”.
Mat Oakley, head of Savills UK and European commercial property research team, said in a research presentation ahead of the panel that investors were increasingly turning to the regions over London.
“There’s a real will to invest outside London but there’s also a real challenge to find those large-scale investment opportunities,” he said. “We are seeing a very strong investor interest in the UK’s big cities; regional markets are starting to pull away.
“The growth will swing away from London and South East. The best growth – economic or otherwise – will be outside London. For example, London is forecast to be the worst-performing region for house prices, and the North West is forecast to be the best.”
Savvy locals
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said that local authorities were becoming more savvy about winning investment.
“The list of local authorities that are open for business is getting longer,” she added. “They have a growing understanding and a growing maturity about real estate development. We need that to penetrate across more areas.”
Tony Reeves, chief executive of Liverpool City Council, agreed with Leech, saying: “The key for us is creating conditions for private sector businesses to thrive, and that’s what we are doing as a priority.”
Other councillors talked about alternative strategies, such as leveraging transport to win investment. Martin Farrington, director at Leeds City Council, said: “Leeds station is the busiest transport hub in the whole of the North of England. We can use that as a mechanism to get government to support local strategies.”
Meanwhile, Suzanne Wylie, chief executive at Belfast City Council, said both the public and private sectors needed to be clearer about their ultimate goals, which she said would require strong leadership.
On the investor side, firms are increasingly seeking out opportunities with local authorities. As Michael Neal, chief investment officer at global investment manager Nuveen, said: “One of the ways we are finding value is partnering with government and local authorities.”
The panel
- Martin Farrington, director, city development, Leeds City Council
- Melanie Leech, chief executive, BPF
- Deborah McLaughlin, managing director, GL Hearn
- Michael Neal, chief investment officer, Nuveen
- Tony Reeves, chief executive, Liverpool City Council
- Suzanne Wylie, chief executive, Belfast City Council
- Chaired by Damian Wild, editor-in-chief, EG
In partnership with
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