Member Article

Local enterprise partnerships have made regions strong

London is the top global city for overseas investment in real estate, a recent survey of members of the US-based Association of Foreign Investors in real estate revealed. There’s no doubt that the city’s property market has benefited from the weight of international investment. But this focus on the UK capital has distorted the market there compared with the rest of the country.

As head of a small general consultancy based in the North East of England, am I jealous? Not one jot!

I have a quality of life in the North East that I thoroughly enjoy, whilst growth in London isn’t new. I’m old enough now to recognise the repetition of economic cycles. In the last few months I have found that global money is also flowing towards the UK’s stronger regional cities. As a result I now work in London around two or three days a week.

The coalition government policy for growth is to be applauded. The introduction of Local Enterprise Partnerships has brought a business-first focus to city regions in England. The object is to make the regions strong while helping to maintain the growth of London’s importance. I believe that this is working. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP), for example, is having a huge impact.

Data from the Office of National Statistics, analysing gross value added (GVA) and hours worked, shows that the north-east is performing at its best level since 2004. Overall, GVA growth in the region was the third highest in the UK in 2012 and expanded at double the rate of London and the West Midlands.

I am an independent member of the NELEP Investment Panel and am involved as an external advisor in the formation of the Strategic Economic Plan for the region and its bid for European Union structural funds. A similar exercise has been taking place in the 38 other LEPs across England, and once that financing is secured, I am confident that we shall see a further change and a continued narrowing of the gap between London and the regions.

This bodes well for the UK’s property and construction markets. We have adequate land for development. Finance is beginning to increase in supply and yield compression is pushing up values. The task of LEP’s is to fuel demand, and this is beginning to happen.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kevan Carrick .