MIPIM news: Whitby warning to local investors
WEST MIDLANDS investors will be urged not to ignore the opportunities on their doorstep by the leader of Birmingham City Council when he addresses delgates at MIPIM today.
Cllr Mike Whitby will tell the world’s leading investors at the global property conference in Cannes they are pushing on an open door if they want to put money into Birmingham in the next ten years.
But he will warn local investors not to miss out on the “acres of opportunity” due to be announced at the event this week.
“If you come and talk to us, you will find that there are opportunities in Birmingham to suit every pocket in the next ten years, whether you want to build a mini-town on one of our aggregated major development areas, or simply take advantage of the momentum in the city to launch smaller schemes that can leverage off the big ticket projects across the city,” he will tell MIPIM delegates.
“Birmingham is a successful, confident and growing city. As the regional capital at the heart of the City Region we are an economic engine for the UK growth agenda.
“We offer a quality of life which is commensurate with the very best cities in Europe, at a price which puts us head and shoulders above the UK capital – from which we will be only 49 minutes away by train when HS2 is operating.
“Birmingham has redefined what it means to be a modern global city. We cherish the historic links we have with our old, European partners, but we forge new friendships directly with the countries and cities that will be the growth nodules of tomorrow – Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, Beijing and Kuwait.
“We are investing in that confidence, with £6 billion of public sector finance currently committed to literally transforming Birmingham and evolving it to the next level.
“We are investing almost £200 million in our new Library of Birmingham, building the largest public library in Europe at a time when no other city can invest at these levels in cultural infrastructure.
“As a strategic move to underpin our successful relationship with the private sector, this alone will act as a catalyst for over £600 million of new private sector development.
“Captured within our award-winning Big City Plan we will lever in £14 billion of committed private sector investment as part of one of the largest city centre
masterplans ever to be created.”
