The government threw its weight behind £3bn of regeneration projects in Sheffield, Glasgow and Newcastle at an investor event at Downing Street.
The three cities were promoting projects to an audience of almost 40 investors at an event on Friday (21 October) staged as part of the MIPIM UK programme. Trade and investment minister Greg Hands hosted the event, alongside Sir Edward Lister, senior adviser to the Department for International Trade.
“The UK already has a fantastic story on inward investment,” said Hands. “We are still the number one destination in Europe for inward investment. Real estate and property will be a key part of that. I have set the most challenging target we have ever set for the sector of £5bn of inward investment. We are doing everything we can as a government to help try to provide the infrastructure to support that scale of development.”
China’s Wanda and Fosun groups were among the overseas investors present alongside Hong Kong’s Gaw Capital Partners, Dutch pension fund PGGM, Qatari Diar and Qatar National Bank as well as the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
UK investors listening to the pitches included M&G director Shailendra Shah, BNP Paribas Real Estate UK chief executive John Slade, Brookgate chief executive Sven Topel and Peter Gladwell, head of public sector partnerships at Legal & General Investment Management.
“The demand for pension schemes as a whole is significant in this space,” said Renos Booth, head of long income funds at Aviva Investors. “Real estate is a fantastic sector. It gives that risk reward premium that is attractive.”
Glasgow pitched development of the university campus, office development around Atlantic Square, Bothwell Exchange and Broadway Central and a series of former Glasgow City Council buildings in the heart of the city acquired by Chris Stewart Group.
Sheffield focused on a £100m investment opportunity around the Aero Centre around Doncaster Sheffield airport.
Newcastle pitched a development in Stephenson Quarter, the city’s first PRS scheme being developed by the Adderstone Group and Newcastle International Airport Business Park.
“We are working with government to grow our city and that is why we are here at Downing Street,” said Newcastle leader Nick Forbes. “We are open for investment whether that is domestic or international.”
It was following an earlier Downing Street event in 2015 that Legal & General agreed to back the £350m Newcastle Science Central project.
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