MIPIM 2016: Greater Birmingham will launch a relocation service to cope with unprecedented investor demand at MIPIM on Thursday morning.
Inward investment agency Marketing Birmingham and Birmingham City Council will unveil the new investor relocation service – the first of its kind in the UK. The initiative is tailored to firms moving to Birmingham’s city centre enterprise zone.
The service is operated by Marketing Birmingham and supported by the council. A team of city experts will provide staff with advice on areas ranging from property to local schools, healthcare provision, transport networks and leisure destinations. A website, bespoke city tours and lifestyle magazine are also available.
The service is already being used by HSBC, assisting the 1,000 staff who are to relocate from London to the bank’s new ring-fenced retail business headquarters at Arena Central in Birmingham city centre. It is now being rolled out to all potential EZ tenants, targeting business, professional and financial services and tech firms in particular.
John Clancy, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “This is the first time an EZ has launched a dedicated relocation service, and we are already seeing its success through HSBC’s use of the scheme. For businesses looking to locate or expand in the UK, this professional service will place Greater Birmingham ahead of other regions.”
Greater Birmingham will become the only UK area with two HS2 train stations and Birmingham was recently named as having the greatest investment potential in the UK, and sixth in Europe, by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. Office construction in the city is at its highest level for 13 years, according to the latest Deloitte Birmingham Crane Survey, with 969,000 sq ft of space being built.
More companies are locating to Greater Birmingham than any other LEP area in the UK. It attracted 73 foreign direct investments alone in 2014/15, according to UK Trade & Investment, 9% more than the next highest LEP.
Birmingham city centre’s EZ comprises 27 sites including Paradise, Arena Central and Martineau Galleries.
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