MAG Property and Airport City Manchester visited MIPIM, the international property exhibition held in Cannes, to highlight the progress and future of the project and fly the flag for the North West region.
MIPIM provides a unique opportunity to engage with gathering the most influential players from all sectors of the international property industry from investors and developers to advisors and stakeholders. With 26,000+ participants attending from over 100 countries, MIPIM continues to be the leading global real estate event.
Here are some of the highlights from the week’s activities:
13th March – MIPIM Business Brunch: “Attracting inward investment through devolution”
The first full day of MIPIM was opened with an Airport City-hosted business brunch event with 40 delegates around the theme of “attracting inward investment through devolution” in partnership with CBRE and Addleshaw Goddard.
The breakfast event brought together senior professionals from the UK real estate and business communities to discuss how areas with devolved powers are driving an inward investment agenda, which will deliver sustainable economies in the North of England.
MAG Property Divisional CEO Lynda Shillaw joined a panel of experts from regions delivering devolution such as Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region and Tees Valley to spark debate and provide a detailed insight. The range of key topics included the future for inward investment in devolved regions in a post-Brexit economy and the importance of global connectivity to devolved regions.
The panel also discussed how each devolution deal is slightly different – the Mayor in Manchester has the widest range of powers, from the Police to Health to the economy – with all of the Mayors having power to direct economy investment policies.
You can see a summary video of the event here.
13th March – “Airport City Manchester – Embracing a Changing Future”. Hosted on the Manchester Pavilion
The progress of Airport City Manchester was also underlined at a special presentation, which took place on the Manchester Pavilion. Lynda Shillaw provided a 15-minute project overview on Airport City Manchester to an audience of national and regional investors, stakeholders and developers.
Introduced by Sir Richard Leese, Lynda discussed the key milestones in the project since 2013 explaining just how far Airport City has come over the last five years, including the developing 821,000 sq ft of space and creating 3,000 new jobs
You can view the promotional film here.
Lynda also highlighted the strong pipeline for office and hotel developments which should create a further 5,000 jobs over the next 4-5 years and how the capital interest in the site is truly coming from all over the world.
She also discussed how Airport City had developed a new CSR strategy, which is all about connecting the site with the local community and bringing the place to life through events such as Platform.
You can read more about Airport City’s CSR aspirations within Lynda’s Property Week thought piece here.
14th March – “Aerotropolis: Cities shaped by airports”. Hosted on the Manchester Pavilion
Lynda Shillaw was also part of the panel at a discussion event on day two of MIPIM entitled ‘Aerotropolis: Cities shaped by airports’. Lynda and Sir Richard Leese represented Airport City and Manchester Airport and were joined by panellists from Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, Invest Stockholm and Oslo Region Alliance.
The panel discussed the interdependent relationships of airports and the cities they serve and the important role air connectivity plays in building a successful city-region and the growing opportunities available around airport sites in terms of urban development and property investment.
Sir Richard Leese said: ” Manchester Airport is vital for the whole of the Northern economy. The key ingredients to a successful city are knowledge and skills, supported by international connectivity. Airports like Manchester are an important generation of growth.”
Lynda Shillaw commented on the panel: “Occupiers choose the place that gives them the best access to a talent pool. We’re seeing businesses develop clusters, for example some businesses will be drawn by a proximity to the Universities in Manchester, others to professional or technical clusters. At the airport we have a mix of all.
“At Airport City there is a focus on connecting people and bringing the local community together. Our aim is to create a proper place, where people really want to work. If you are building a place in the 21st century, it’s not enough to be big and shiny. You need to promote a great experience, with a focus on well-being, health, and connected communities.”
15th March – “Northern Powerhouse” – UK Government Pavilion
Lynda’s third panel event took place on Day 3 at the UK Government Pavilion. She joined a prominent group of senior figures based across the Northern Powerhouse.
The session was chaired by the Department for International Trade (DIT) and included panel members from Leeds City Council and Sheffield City Region, alongside major North-West property developers from MediaCityUK and Bruntwood.
The panel discussed that the Northern Powerhouse is recognised across the world as a great place to invest and has billions of pounds of investment opportunities available, such as Airport City Manchester. There also was agreement that the “brand” of the Northern Powerhouse had been successful in raising awareness of the North and in particular when engaging with key foreign direct investment markets, such as China and India.
Lynda Shillaw commented: “Manchester Airport provides the important element of international connectivity across the Northern Powerhouse which supports growth in exports and inward investment.”
It was agreed that Manchester Airport already acts as the global hub across the Northern Powerhouse, which will only continue to increase with the current levels of capital investment. In particular, the number of long haul routes to key growing destinations was cited as an important factor.
15th March – “The Knowledge Economy – workforce diversity” – UK Government Pavilion
To close MIPIM 2018, Lynda joined a high-profile panel for the final event on the UK Government Pavilion to discuss the important topic of diversity and inclusion within the property sector. This is a very prevalent topic in the property industry, especially following the recent widespread public criticism of the all-male Presidents Club.
Lynda was joined on the panel by the Chief Executives of major property companies British Land and Oxford Properties, alongside members of the British Property Federation (BPF), the trade association for UK commercial real estate companies.
This session looked at how workforce diversity is more than simply the right thing to do to make society more integrated and just – they debated the economic, social and business benefits; which many organisations are yet to fully realise.
As part of an inspiring discussion, Lynda explained there is a now significant shift within the industry happening now before our very eyes: “The issues facing the workforce today are multifaceted and fast changing. It’s not enough for employers to just focus on ensuring that workforces are diverse and inclusive.
“They need to rethink how we work and how we are going to work in the next 10 to 20 years. This means delivering on great working practices and great work environments for all employees.”