A billion-pound package of opportunities is up for grabs when Sheffield City Region business leaders fly out to the south of France mid March to get in front of thousands of potential investors. (March 13-17).
The largest-ever private sector delegation from the booming region will travel to MIPIM Cannes, the annual global property exhibition, to promote an exciting range of regeneration sites and properties. Two huge votes of confidence in the region have been announced in the past month: supercar maker McLaren is making a £50million investment in R & D and a factory, and aero giant Boeing plans to invest £20million making airplane components in the region – its first site in Europe.
The Sheffield City Region (SCR) is backing both projects with funding and predicts they will create massive regional supply chain opportunities.
The team will make a series of key announcements about the flagship assets offering opportunities for investors, and the funding available. Opportunities for MIPIM investors include visionary urban regeneration, extensive housing sites, and the excellence of transport links and strategic infrastructure in the region. The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, the Peel Group’s Aero Centre at Doncaster, and town centre revitalisation will be heavily promoted.
Simon Carr, MD of construction firm Henry Boot Ltd and a sponsor of the SCR at MIPIM, has been an attender on behalf of the region for many years. He said: “It’s networking at speed. It’s very intense and it brings together the construction industry, developers, investors and local authorities.
“Being at MIPIM means that you can start some very good conversations that go on to build longer-term relationships.
“It generates interest and gets people talking – it’s a catalyst for exploring opportunities.”
The Sheffield City Region sponsors this year include: Coda, DLP Planning , Extra MSA Group, Harworth Estates, Henry Boot, HLM Architects, Keepmoat, Network Space, Peel Group, Turner and Townsend, University of Sheffield, Verdion, and the WT Partnership
Henry Boot as a firm is very much part of the Sheffield City Region. It is currently working on the ‘Better Barnsley’ revitalisation of the town centre and is a key partner in the newly-opened Barnsley Skills Academy; it built the hugely successful Fox Valley retail park on the former steelworks site at Stocksbridge; and Markham Vale, one of the largest commercial parks in the UK.
Henry Boot also provided the transport needed for Sheffield’s famous 58-strong ‘Herd of Elephants’, the heart-tug artworks which were placed around Sheffield and raised almost half a million pounds for the Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
