EDITOR’S COMMENT Look out Leeds, it appears the entire UK real estate sector will be descending on your city next week.
More than 12,500 property professionals are set to attend UKREiiF next week if you believe the figures from the organisers. And, to be honest, given the volume of e-mails I’ve received over the past couple of weeks about meetings at the event, I’d happily wager that those numbers are pretty solid.
That volume of private sector real estate professionals in a single location with a host of public sector bodies can only be a good thing for the industry and UK plc. But we have to make the most of it.
EG will be there in force. Our entire news team will be hunting out the biggest stories, our events team will be hosting and bringing to life some of the most important conversations and our commercial team will be there finding out more about how our data solutions can aid both public and private sectors in finding best value in real estate.
Collectively we will be there with the express purpose of helping real estate gain recognition for the powerful sector it is. We will be focused on showcasing the good real estate can do for the country, for the populace and, of course, for the bottom line. We’ll be there shouting about how the UK is a great place to invest and about how real estate (and infrastructure) is one of the most purposeful mechanisms for that investment.
On 22 May we’ll be launching a special Working in Partnership guide, put together by EG’s public sector forum with help from our investor forum, which offers practical advice on how to make public and private sector partnerships work properly. It’s a great document, with a host of case studies to showcase what good looks like and the true power of proper partnership. You can pick up a copy at our event.
Lord Harrington, this week’s EG Interviewee and one of our guest speakers at the launch, knows the value of partnership and how vital it is for the UK to be better at working with investment partners. His review, published last November, revealed the huge volume of investment the country is missing out on because we’re unable to organise ourselves properly.
He tells EG: “I’m very conscious with property that, although self-evidently real estate itself is fixed, the pounds and dollars and euros that property companies have can go anywhere in the world. It’s for government to make it attractive to do it here.”
He adds: “So few politicians come from a real estate development background that they don’t really grasp how significant it is to the development of the economy. A lot of politicians understand the housebuilding point but don’t see commercial development in quite the same way. Yet, if we are to really get the economy moving, we need to develop a lot of clusters, which will involve very significant planning permissions, and government nationally has to realise that sometimes these will have to be implemented against the will of local people. That’s something that politicians have to grasp.”
And with a host of politicians and public servants – from both parties – set to be in Leeds, we have to seize on this opportunity to educate the government. Both central and local government needs our industry’s help. If we can showcase how we can help them, then that help will be reciprocated. It has to be. If we start and develop the conversations in the right way. If we don’t do that then we will never be able to build back better, to truly level up our places and ensure the UK attracts the investment it deserves and needs.
So if you’re in Leeds next week, join EG on its mission to elevate this industry and the value and purpose it can bring.
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