The power behind the powerhouse: Leeds City Region launches ambitious programme for largest ever MIPIM delegation

Leeds City Region will be using this year’s MIPIM property and investment forum to confirm its position as the “power behind the Powerhouse” – the city region that makes the biggest economic contribution to the Northern Powerhouse and generates more for UK plc than any other city region nationally.

The City Region’s largest ever delegation of private and public sector decision-makers will be using the global gathering of investors, developers and occupiers to highlight the scale of investment opportunity across the UK’s largest city region economy, population and workforce. They will be showcasing the strength of business confidence in Leeds City Region, which includes 6% growth in private sector jobs over the past year - the highest rate of private sector jobs growth in the UK.

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership said:

“Our business case for investors is stronger than ever, and MIPIM 2017 is about demonstrating our recent successes as well as showing how much more major investment is coming our way in the years ahead.

“Leeds City Region’s economic output is greater than that of nine EU countries, and we have the largest and fastest growing workforce in the UK. As the geographic and economic heart of the Northern Powerhouse, ours is a city region where the best businesses in the world can grow and succeed.

“This is the message that we will taking to the market and we look forward to capitalising on the global platform that MIPIM gives us to attract yet more investment and jobs into our City Region.”

Kersten England, Chief Executive of Bradford Council, and Leeds City Region’s lead Chief Executive for Inward Investment in said:

“MIPIM provides an opportunity to share the benefits of Leeds City Region with the world.

“The public and private sector will be standing side by side to demonstrate that we have the right ingredients to provide investors, developers and occupiers with a recipe for success.

“Whether that’s our rising levels of productivity, our advanced tech infrastructure or access to our huge pool of talent, we have it all here”.

Amanda Beresford, Head of Planning at Shulmans LLP said:

“This will be the sixth time I have attended MIPIM as part of the Leeds City Region delegation and each year I have seen it grow with more businesses helping to spread the message that the region is open for business.

“Attending MIPIM and further raising awareness of the opportunities and expertise that exists here is crucial to the City Region achieving its huge economic potential.”

International property agent, GVA, will be previewing its latest market report on the opportunities and potential returns of investing in the Leeds City Region’s £62.5bn economy as part of the packed programme of events, panel discussions and networking receptions.

Opportunities resulting from the Leeds City Region’s strong, well-established knowledge economy – which has been recognised by influential economic think-tank Centre for Cities as leading the UK’s reinvention as a knowledge-led economy – will also be showcased. The City Region’s knowledge economy is underpinned by world-leading research, one of Europe’s largest teaching hospitals, the UK’s best university, over £600m of investment in academic infrastructure currently on-site or in the pipeline and the largest population of millennials in the Northern Powerhouse.

Major investment in connectivity and transport infrastructure will be another key theme, focusing in particular on the scale of investment underway and in the pipeline in and around Leeds station and the South Bank – Europe’s largest regeneration scheme.

This year’s delegation is the largest group to attend from Leeds City Region to date, and includes headline sponsors Thorpe Park Leeds, a joint venture by Scarborough Group and Legal & General Capital, plus sponsors including Addleshaw Goddard, Arcadis, Architecture519, Arup, Aql, Bruntwood, Caddick, CEG, Citu, DLA Architects, Extra MSA, GVA, Harworth Estates, Heeton Holdings, Keepmoat, Leeds Braford Airport, MEPC, Munroe K, Muse, NJL Consulting, Quod, Shulmans, TCS and Turner and Townsend.

Details of Leeds City Region’s full MIPIM 2017 programme can be found on the Invest Leeds City Region website.