Leicester and Leicestershire’s 2020 property investment campaign kick-started this morning at the iconic King Richard III Visitor Centre.
Under the ‘Team Leicester’ banner, a delegation of experts in property, construction, architecture, surveying as well as legal and consultancy services will again be heading to ‘MIPIM’ - the world’s largest property exhibition, held every year, in Cannes (France) in March.
The aim of the trip is to meet and network with investors and property and construction developers from around the world who could potentially invest and do business here. Team Leicester’s aim is to highlight why Leicester and Leicestershire should be the primary consideration.
This morning’s event was attended by over 40 delegates connected to, or working in the property sector, locally, along with a range of support from the wider business community, recognising the importance of Team Leicester and its impact in 2019.
There was a review of last year’s Team Leicester campaign entitled ‘Space for Growth’. This centred around the exciting upsurge of grow-on office space coupled with major developments in the area - particularly those in and around the Leicester’s Space Park. The headline event featured Dr Suzie Imber - planetary scientist, pro-vice chancellor (Students) at the University of Leicester and the winner of BBC Two’s ‘Astronauts, Do You Have What It Takes?’, who truly helped to make a Team Leicester’s 2019 MIPIM campaign stand out.
Speaking this morning, the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby and County Council leader, Cllr. Nick Rushton confirmed the local authority support for Team Leicester and described how they believe it is continuing to drive substantive inward investment and growth for the City and County alike. The event concluded with Team Leicester outlining the goals for 2020 and inviting expressions of interest from the audience.
Team Leicester is now a limited company in its own right, funded entirely by contributions from local organisations. It is led by a team of directors consisting of Rob McGuinn, director of MDA Consulting, Richard Osborn, regional director at Excello Law, and Mukesh Patel, managing partner at Freeths. It is supported by Leicester City Council’s Invest in Leicester initiative, the Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and events management agency, Associate Events.
Rob McGuinn, chair of Team Leicester said, “Part of the reason for this morning’s event was to set the ball rolling now for our 2020 campaign whilst we’re still riding the wave of success from 2019. We want to go to Cannes in March with a comprehensive and coherent message about what Leicester and Leicestershire have to offer
“MIPIM is the world’s largest real estate conference and exhibition. It’s very difficult to sum up just how important it can be to our region: huge investment and business deals go down at MIPIM, but, and as anyone in this industry knows, the outcome of these can take many years to come to fruition. Some of the developments we are currently witnessing in Leicester City for example, were borne out of conversations and handshakes that took place at MIPIM a few years ago. Sometimes just being in the right place in the right time is what’s important – and at MIPIM all those wishing to do business are aiming to do just that.
“It’s an old cliché, but you’ve got to be in it, to win it – and this is why we wanted to showcase the benefits of being part of Team Leicester at MIPIM, and offer businesses connected to the property and construction sector the opportunity to get involved. We would be delighted to hear from anyone that is interested.”
Bradgate Estates has been confirmed as Team Leicester’s headline partner in 2020. Joe Levy, Managing Director said, “Bradgate Estates has been at MIPIM for a number years and we will keep going because it’s the best place in the world to do business – and where huge property deals happen. Each year we are able to get in front of people that we wouldn’t normally be able to and over the years, we have formed new relationships that have led to us selling sites and finding equity partners - bringing massive benefits to our business.
“Going to MIPIM with Team Leicester makes a world of difference as it really is a ‘team’ that supports each other - and that’s why we are proud to be Team Leicester’s headline partner. I would say to any business thinking of going to MIPIM to just ‘go for it’ with Team Leicester – particularly as you’ll be able to tap into help and advice from seasoned MIPIM-goers.”
Team Leicester relies on the support of the local business community and it is keen to ensure that the 2020 campaign is just as successful as last year. Any businesses that are interested in getting involved in Team Leicester and enjoying the benefits at MIPIM 2020 should get in touch with Rob McGuinn at rmcguinn@mdaconsulting.co.uk
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