Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram are set to speak at a UK rival to international property event MIPIM.
The mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region will attend The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), which will take place between May 17 and May 19 in Leeds.
The inaugural event is aimed at ‘connecting people, places and businesses in order to accelerate the levelling up agenda and unlock sustainable, inclusive and transformational investment across the country’.
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Joanne Anderson, mayor of Liverpool City Council, will also be among the keynote speakers.
Mr Burnham said: “Despite an incredibly challenging couple of years, Greater Manchester has come out of the pandemic with more ambition and energy than ever before. Our sights are set on a swift recovery that includes everyone.
“UKREiiF marks an important first step for Greater Manchester as it puts itself back out on the national and international stage. We’re a city-region that is open for business, open to innovation, and open to partnership.”
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority chief executive Katherine Fairclough added: “We are committed to building a better, cleaner and more inclusive City Region that leaves no-one behind and we look forward to sharing our vision and plans with investors.
“Our pre-pandemic economic growth stood out nationally and now we’re back on track, more determined than ever. Teaming up with our colleagues from Greater Manchester we will showcase the best of the North West and the massive investment opportunities available to business and to Government, to deliver its levelling-up promise.”
The event is set to taker place at Royal Armouries Leeds & Leeds Dock.
From the private sector side, speakers include Anna Devlet, head of social sustainability at British Land, Lynda Shillaw, chief executive at the Harworth Group, Katie Kopec, international director at JLL, Jennie Coleville, head of ESG and sustainability at Landsec, and Jennie Daly, group operations director at Taylor Wimpey.
Heads of occupiers include Dr Kath Mackay, director at Bruntwood Life Sciences, and Andy Williams, vice president, UK strategy, at AstraZeneca.
Eamonn Boylan, chief executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), said: “Greater Manchester will exhibit at UKREiiF to profile the city-region’s investment opportunities to both national and international investors, developers and occupiers.
“We will be sharing a platform with our partners at Liverpool City Region and our joint programme will tackle key themes that are important to both regions, including Levelling Up, the journey to Net Zero, and inclusive growth.”
MIPIM takes place in CannesStephen Cowperthwaite, chair of the Liverpool Place Partnership, added: “Levelling up is a big discussion point at the moment. Liverpool and Manchester joining up at UKREiiF provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the collective strength in these two great city regions and what we can achieve by working together collaboratively.
“There are challenges that towns and cities across the UK are facing, not least issues relating to the ESG agenda. Events such as UKREiiF are essential for bringing the public and private sectors together to find sustainable solutions and appropriate investment to ensure that we are creating better places for our communities.”
UKREiiF’s organisers are “confident” that the event will see more than 5,000 in person attendees, over 250 speakers across 14 stages, in excess of 100 exhibitors and at least 50 fringe events.
Amanda Griffiths, director at Built Environment Networking, UKREiiF’s organiser, said: “We are very pleased to be welcoming leaders from the Greater Manchester and Liverpool regions to the inaugural UKREiiF, where they will have a chance to showcase great new investment opportunities for a host of delegates from across the public and private sectors.
“The rich mix of exhibitors signed up so far is highly encouraging and underscores the high demand for this type of event, which is centred around inclusivity and sustainability.
“Clearly, both the public and private sectors are seeing UKREiiF as valuable opportunity to come together for mutual benefit and for the good of the country.”
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