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As the dust settles after the property sector’s annual pilgrimage to the South of France, Krista Powell, partner in our Real Estate team, considers the event’s importance for the North of England.
There is always a strong contingent from the North of England at MIPIM, branded the ‘world’s leading real estate market event’.
It’s an opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together and collaborate. After a lower-profile event last year post-Covid, MIPIM was back to full power in 2023, with 20,000 attendees representing more than 80 countries.
I was there as part of the delegation from Manchester and was pleased to see how well the event was used to communicate levelling up ambitions across the entirety of the North, with property and infrastructure key to unlocking productivity and boosting social mobility in the regions.
On a visit to Greater Manchester’s stand, leaders from across the city region highlighted how they are working together to close the economic gap between the 10 boroughs. MIPIM is about making international connections and expounding our economic potential to others across the world. Pleasingly, there was a clear focus on innovation, sustainability and inclusivity, and how economic development can be harnessed to help create a fairer, greener society for future generations.
Greater Manchester has long been a frontrunner on development. However, the key takeaway for me is that few, if any, of the local or combined authorities at MIPIM are sitting on their hands waiting to be ‘levelled up’. They are making moves to attract investment, improve infrastructure and enhance the quality of life available to local communities.
Joanne Roney, CEO of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, made this point most acutely: “Investors are the prime reason MIPIM is on the calendar for local authorities. After years of austerity, those unwilling to put all their eggs in the next central government funding basket need to look elsewhere to bring in the cash needed for large-scale regeneration schemes.”
Sarah Green from the NewcastleGateshead (corr) Initiative agreed: “Levelling up is not something that’s done to us. No, it’s something we want to do. We need a strong London in order to support the regions, but equally London needs strong regions if we’re all going to succeed.”
The rhetoric is driven by real life experience and disappointments. Paul Dennett, mayor of Salford and the deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, lamented that the North still doesn’t get the investment it rightly deserves.
He was at MIPIM to find partners who could really deliver levelling up, building on the progress that has already been achieved in tackling poverty and inequality in the region through proactive engagement with the international investment community.
The new ‘trailblazer’ devolution deal for Greater Manchester, announced as part of the Chancellor’s Budget during MIPIM week, will undoubtedly help. The previous funding model was fragmented and required multiple bids for resources from different pots, which prevented the city region from taking a more joined-up approach and acting decisively on initiatives including the Bee Network – an integrated London-style transport system.
The city region’s productivity levels remain at 90% of the national average, and have done for the past 10 years. Government estimates suggest lifting levels to the national average would equate to a £8.2bn return for UK PLC.
Clearly there is a need for more trailblazer deals to follow for other devolved authorities across the North to further what has the potential to be an auspicious era for the region. Brabners’ first Northern Investment Index, which launched recently, surveyed more than 400 institutional investors in the UK and US, who ranked Manchester as the number one city for investment in the UK, ahead of London, with Liverpool and Leeds ranked joint 6th.
Delivering more devolution would be a clear a step forward and would allow northern cities to rise up those rankings.
To truly level up the North though, our strategy must be about collaboration, not competition. MIPIM 2023 was clear evidence that the North is acting as one and moving in the right direction. We can hope for more of the same when the property industry reconvenes for UKREiiF in Leeds in May.
If you would like to discuss this blog further, please contact Krista Powell.
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