Liverpool’s public sector to seek investment at Mipim 2011
Liverpool will be at the international property conference Mipim in March – but without its usual yacht and exhibition stand.
The city has been sending a delegation to the annual Mipim (Marché International des Professionnels d’Immobilier) event in Cannes, on the French Riviera, for 10 years, in a bid to attract investment and development in Liverpool.
Last October, Liverpool City Council decided to axe its £150,000-a-year funding towards attending the world’s largest property fair, in a move that was expected to result in no formal representation from the city.
It instead chose to focus its efforts on the embassy in London and the One Plan, which seeks to bring together partners across the private and public sectors.
But senior figures from Liverpool City Council and the city’s economic regeneration arm Liverpool Vision will still be going out in March to promote the city as an investment destination.
Mike Taylor, deputy chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said: “Our view was that we didn’t feel it was appropriate for the public sector to be investing in a yacht and stand at Mipim – but we thought we should be there.
“We will be meeting people, we will run a few events. We will invite people, maybe for a dinner at a restaurant.
“Liverpool will be there, looking for investment, just without the platform of the yacht.”
Mipim brings together more than 17,000 investors, public sector organisations and commercial property professionals from 80 countries.
While a number of businesses with Liverpool operations make the annual trip to the south of France, there had been a big hit in those willing to sponsor the city’s presence.
“We had 25 sponsors a couple of years ago, that went down to six and eight for the last two years,” he added.
“When we had 25, it cost something like £350,000 and half of that was coming from the private sector.
“In the last couple of years, we were paying the majority of the costs, but it became disproportionate.
“We have agreed with our sponsors that there hasn’t been a sufficient appetite to put money into things like the yacht and the stand. But their appetite remains to be out there, and the public sector wants to support the city investment opportunities.”
International markets are seen by Liverpool Vision as critical to the city’s ongoing regeneration, especially in light of the continuing fragility of the UK economy.
Mr Taylor said: “It’s about getting out there and doing business internationally, not just in Merseyside or the North West. 2009 was when the Liverpool Vision board realised that internationalisation needed to be a priority.
“One of the challenges for Liverpool businesses is we are not going to get economic growth by trading in the sub-region or the North West – hence the London embassy.
“We are going to have a tough year, there’s going to be very little UK growth, so we need to look to markets overseas.”
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