Marketing Lancashire, the county’s place marketing agency and organisers of the Lancashire MIPIM 2020 delegation on behalf of Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), met yesterday with representatives of the business delegation* heading to MIPIM; the property and investment conference, held annually in Cannes and taking place this year from Tuesday 10 – Friday 13 March.
Almost 27,000 delegates are expected at MIPIM 2020 – ‘The Future is Human’, with guest speakers including internationally renowned Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple and prolific designer, Philippe Starck.
Steve Fogg, Chair of the LEP, said: “Lancashire is one of the largest economies in the north and a key focus for the LEP is to build upon its global reputation in the aerospace, advanced manufacturing and energy sectors and to ensure we are positioned to exploit new opportunities in these and emerging sectors. Our attractiveness to inward investors will be enhanced further through investment in our infrastructure and maximising collaboration opportunities with our NPH partners. MIPIM is a major platform that will allow us to tell a global audience about Lancashire’s investment proposition.”
The county’s four-day, packed programme includes eight invite-only events hosted in an exclusive Lancashire hospitality venue, participation in a series of Northern Powerhouse events and panel sessions, and presence on the county’s first, stand alone, Lancashire exhibition space in the Palais des Festivals.
The Lancashire 2020 MIPIM programme is sponsored by: Eric Wright Construction; Lancashire Enterprise Partnership; Lovell; Shoosmiths; The Peel Group; and University of Central Lancashire.
Cllr Keith Iddon, Deputy Leader of Lancashire County Council, commented: “This is the first time that Lancashire has taken a business delegation out to MIPIM, and we will be working with them to ensure that we maximise the profile of the county and its investment opportunities. There is significant potential for us to build on existing relationships and to create new partnerships that will help accelerate our growing economy, which is already the second largest in the North West.”
James Eager, Director of Eric Wright Construction, said: “Eric Wright Group is delighted to be attending MIPIM again this year for the 7th year running, even more so to be part of the Lancashire delegation. Each year MIPIM gets better and we are looking forward to attending and hosting events, meeting old and new contacts and seeing what this great event has to offer. It’s always a good platform to see what new developments are out there and to appreciate the great work that Lancashire is delivering now and in the future.”
Rachel McQueen, Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire, commented: “At our events and on the exhibition stand we will be highlighting a range of large-scale investment opportunities and major schemes already coming forward. These will include the Preston and South Ribble City Deal, the county-wide Lancashire Advanced Manufacturing Energy Cluster (LAMEC), UCLan’s Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC) in Preston, Lancaster University’s Health Innovation Campus (HIC) and the proposals for Morecambe’s Eden North development.”
Michael Conlon, Executive Chairman of Conlon Construction and Lancashire Ambassador adds “At Conlon we are proud of our Lancashire roots having been founded in Preston in 1961. We are delighted to support the Lancashire delegation at MIPIM and believe it is an important opportunity for the County. Over the years several UK regions and cities have benefitted from MIPIM and we have confidence Lancashire will too. The World’s largest property convention is perfect for Lancashire to show international investors what the County has to offer.”
The programme will conclude with a Lancashire Ambassadors networking event on Thursday 12 March.
Taste Lancashire Ambassador and Head Chef of the multi award-winning Hipping Hall, Oli Martin, will deliver the breakfast, lunch and dinner events throughout the week; proudly showcasing a range of Lancashire food and drink, following his successful debut at MIPIM last year.
