Manchester needs to keep its “edge” at MIPIM next year to beat global rivals for investment – that was the upbeat message from city region leaders as they launched their programme for 2025’s global property showcase.
The Manchester Invest Partnership will again be taking a delegation to MIPIM in Cannes in March to showcase the city region’s regeneration and investment opportunities. The event sees thousands of world property leaders and investors gather on the French Riviera for days of debate and discussion.
The partnership has already confirmed 11 panel sessions at MIPIM – which will cover areas from the Old Trafford regeneration to the need to transform the city’s edges, as well as subjects from transport to devolution. The sessions were launched at an event at Versa Studios in Manchester.
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig told the audience of city leaders: “There’s so much to be proud about – so much to shout about. It feels like we’ve got ourselves into a really good place.”
She hailed the "consistency of vision and narrative” across Greater Manchester and said the new government was committed to regional development – which could help Manchester compete with other large European cities.
She said: “We’re not losing out to Leeds and Liverpool. We’re losing out to Saxony and Lyon.”
And Coun Craig said that Greater Manchester should not rest on its laurels on MIPIM because high-profile developments have already taken place in the region.
Instead, she said, it should look ahead to promote other high-profile projects, such as the Old Trafford regeneration.
She said: “It’s important that we don’t let people take our edge from us.”
Victoria Braddock, managing director of Marketing Manchester, opened the event by declaring that Manchester would be promoting itself as “the” Ƶ growth opportunity at MIPIM.
She then introduced the main speakers of the night - and joked “in true MIPIM style, this will be done as a panel”.
Host Abiola Ogunsami, graduate development manager at Muse and ambassador for Regeneration Brainery, asked panellists including Coun Craig what they were expecting from this year’s MIPIM.
Caroline Simpson, group chief executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said: “We really stand together as Manchester and as Greater Manchester. “
Stuart Rogers, North West director of project management at developer Muse, said MIPIM provided attendees with great access to people from property and beyond, allowing for a range of open conversations it might take weeks or months to arrange at home.
He said: “You could never write it down on a piece of paper before you go.”
Mr Rogers added: “We have conversations at MIPIM that you just wouldn’t have in this country because you wouldn’t have the time.”
He said those conversations rippled through the week and helped to promote Greater Manchester’s success story. And speaking of Manchester’s success, he said: “People in Europe hear it. People in North America hear it.”
The panellists all stressed that redevelopment and regeneration should not just be about shiny towers – it should be about improving the lives of residents across the cities, towns and boroughs of Greater Manchester.
Coun Craig said that deprivation remained a challenge in the city of Manchester despite its high-profile clusters of skyscrapers.
She highlighted the council’s work in Collyhurst and Wythenshawe as examples of the authority working to help all its residents - and said “people forget that we have towns within the city”.
She also mentioned other key regeneration areas including around Strangeways.
Mr Rogers said the true success of MIPIM would be “taking the success of the city back to the towns”.
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