Cheshire and Warrington to showcase ‘developing economic success story’ at MIPIM 2018

Cheshire and Warrington’s economy will be showcased on the global stage this spring, as representatives of the region return to property and investment event MIPIM to spark international interest.

Speaking at a business event this week in Chester, hosted by professional services firm Knights 1759, Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) boss Philip Cox said the area’s outstanding growth and assets form a compelling pitch for global investors.

MIPIM, which stands for Marché International des Professionels d’Immobilier, is now in its 29th year. Held annually in the French city of Cannes, this year’s iteration takes place March 13-16.

This year will mark the second time that Cheshire and Warrington will exhibit at MIPIM. The delegation will be led by the LEP, in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council, Cheshire East Council and Warrington Borough Council, supported by Marketing Cheshire.

Investment opportunities to be promoted include The Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise Zone; the Chester and Mersey Dee economic area; HS2 in Crewe; and Warrington’s ‘New City’ regeneration masterplan.

LEP chief exec Philip Cox said: “Cheshire is a rapidly developing economic success story and we are consistently punch above our weight.

“We are returning to MIPIM because we want the international investor community to grasp the opportunities available in our outstanding economy which will help us achieve our objective of growing our economy to £50bn per year by 2040.”

He continued: “In the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics just before Christmas, Cheshire and Warrington was shown as growing by 6.1% during 2016 and about to break the £30bn per annum barrier. They also showed that our output per head is more than 20% higher than the UK average and is still the second highest of any sub-region outside of London.

“At this rate of progress we could overtake Liverpool and Lancashire to become the second largest economy in the North West and third biggest sub-regional economy in the North as early as this year, despite having a population 60% smaller than in those areas.”

Knights 1759 chief exec David Beech commented: “Attending MIPIM is about expanding business networks and showing that our county, with all it has to offer, is open to business and is a compelling destination.”

Katrina Michel, the chief executive of Marketing Cheshire, said: “We want to encourage the broadest possible engagement both from those attending MIPIM and other companies across Cheshire and Warrington who want to support the sub region and for that reason our sponsorship package is very competitively priced.

“For those who want to come to MIPIM, we offer value for money passes and partnerships; for others, we offer a chance to promote their business and engagement with Cheshire and Warrington in our investment prospectus which is distributed at MIPIM and throughout the year.”

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