Investors managing funds worth £4 trillion will gather on the French Riviera this week and a delegation from Liverpool city region will be there to showcase £11bn worth of projects. Tony McDonough reports

 

Political and business leaders from Liverpool city region will head to Cannes on the French Riviera this week to showcase £11bn worth of projects to global investors.

MIPIM (Le Marché International des Professionnels de L’immobilier) is one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. The property and investment expo will attract more than 20,000 investors, professionals, developers and city, regional and national leaders.

Liverpool, and latterly Liverpool city region, has been sending delegations to the four-day event for more than a quarter of a century.

An oft-quoted stat from the expo is that it sees more champagne consumed than during the Cannes Film Festival which takes place at the same seafront venue two months later.

Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram will lead the delegation this year along with city council leader Liam Robinson. They will be representing the interests of Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton.

Joining them will be a number of Merseyside businesses including modular homes builder Starship, Peel Waters (Liverpool and Wirral Waters), Liverpool BID Company, Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Atkins Realis and ION Developments.

So is it, as many have claimed over the years, “just a junket” or is it a genuine opportunity to secure deals and attract the attention of global investors? Does the mantra “we can’t afford not to be there” hold true?

Well, of course, two things can be true at once. It’s hard to deny that after a hard day of networking along the Boulevard de la Croisette it is not unheard of for delegates to lay siege to Cannes’s many bars and restaurants.

In November last year, Frank McKenna, chief executive of Liverpool business lobbying group, Downtown in Business, hit back at critics of foreign trips. He was speaking after Mayor Rotheram had returned from a trade mission to the US.

Frank said: “I am genuinely flabbergasted at some of the small-minded, shortsighted comments that I have seen from a vocal minority.

“A big part of the mayor’s job is to be our champion and ambassador abroad. He needs to be meeting other international mayors, leaders, and more importantly international entrepreneurs and investors. You cannot do that in a meaningful way on a Zoom call.”

MIPIM veteran and one of Liverpool’s most prominent property sector PRs, Dougal Paver of Merrion Strategy, is in no doubt of the value of the event. He told LBN: “MIPIM is more than just about being on investors’ radars, as important as that is.

“It offers the chance to show them how Liverpool can contribute to their own bottom line. If we’re not there exploring the ‘what’s in it for me’ argument with the key investment decision-makers, then we’re not in the game. It’s that simple.

“Everyone who goes to MIPIM puts a shift in. Yes, the sun is shining but that’s incidental.  The amount of planning that goes in from the whole Liverpool delegation is impressive and it’s a credit to the Combined Authority and Liverpool Council that they prioritise it.

“We’re selling large-scale real estate and regeneration opportunities to national and international players, and MIPIM is where they gather. I’d be more concerned if Liverpool wasn’t represented, and it would be great if Liverpool could fund an even bigger presence – MIPIM is that important.”

 

 

According to MIPIM organisers, among the delegates representing around 90 countries will be investors who control funds with an estimated combined value of £4 trillion.

That is not to be sniffed at and this year Liverpool city region will be showcasing multiple projects across sectors including health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, creative and digital and maritime. Projects highlighted will include:

• Maghull Health Park: A 300,000 sq ft hub for digital and lab spaces, aiming to become a national centre of excellence for mental health research.
• Paddington South, Knowledge Quarter Liverpool: The latest phase of the city’s life sciences and innovation district.
• Liverpool Waters by Peel L&P. A 30-year vision to transform the city’s northern docks, creating a sustainable world-class, high-quality, mixed-use waterfront.
• Wirral Waters: £4.5bn development for Birkenhead, Wirral – the sister programme of the Liverpool Waters project.
• Festival Gardens Liverpool and Hind Street Urban Village (Birkenhead): Major housing developments to create vibrant new communities.
• Littlewoods Film Studios: A flagship project driving the growth of Liverpool’s creative and digital economy.
• Bootle Town Centre transformation: Large-scale regeneration projects delivering new homes, offices, and public spaces.

Steve Rotheram said: “MIPIM is about putting investment opportunities in the Liverpool city region on the global stage and making sure the world knows what we have to offer.

“We’re here to do what our region has always done best: build connections, strike deals, and deliver opportunities that change lives.

“Make no mistake about it, we are a global player, and if we want to bring investment home, we have to go where the investors are. MIPIM gives us the chance to showcase £11bn worth of opportunities to some of the world’s biggest players. Conversations there can lead to growth here.”

During MIPIM, taking place from Monday, March 10, to Friday, March 14, the Liverpool City Region Capital and Real Estate Investment Programme team will host a series of panel sessions and presentations.

A particular emphasis will be placed on green infrastructure projects and sustainable development, reflecting the region’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2035.

 

 

Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson added: “Liverpool and our wider region is the land of opportunity. The ability and ambition to deliver transformational schemes is clear for all to see. 

“MIPIM is a great showcase to illustrate how all our growth sectors and industries are beginning to fire on all cylinders.”

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Dave Dargan, chief executive of Starship Group, which produces modular homes at its factory in Wirral Waters, also said: “This event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase a world class city region on a world class stage.

“We are already a national leader in delivering zero carbon and zero bills’ homes using advanced manufacturing which is one of the most exciting emerging sectors in the city region.

“This event provides an opportunity for us to attract further investment which will accelerate delivery in some of the city region’s most exciting developments.”

And Colin Sinclair, chief executive of Sciontec and KQ Liverpool, also said: “Knowledge Quarter Liverpool will be the engine room for delivery of LCR Innovation Zone projects, dovetailing with our ambitions to develop 1 million sq ft of new office and laboratory space in our innovation district over the next 15 years.

“It’s crucial, therefore, that we take the opportunity to represent the city region on a global stage at MIPIM and other events throughout the year.”

Liverpool BID Company’s chief executive, Bill Addy, has been made director of the Global Business Districts Innovation Club and will meet up with other members at MIPIM this week.

The GBD Innovation Club is the world’s most influential non-profit organisation dedicated to global business districts, with 14 member institutions from regions including Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo and Casablanca from Europe, America, Asia and Africa.

“I am delighted to take a central role in the Innovation Club, of which Liverpool has been a member since 2022,” said Bill. “Business Districts play a unique role in the modern city, connecting the private and the public sector to attract investment and shout about opportunity.

“At MIPIM, we will have a focus on Liverpool’s Commercial District, hearing from vital businesses within the area including Sony, Avison Young, Taylor Wessing and Liverpool Waters to discuss the investment potential in the area.

“Its character has changed post pandemic, we see a far younger workforce in the Commercial District, with a much higher density of residential population and the leisure and nightlife demands that come with that. It is a time of opportunity for global investors to see Liverpool as a place for the future.”