Professionals from across Greater Manchester’s property sector came together last Thursday evening (14 September) for the launch of the Manchester at MIPIM 2018 Partnership.
Held in KPMG’s offices at One St. Peter’s Square, the launch looked back on Manchester’s most successful year to date at the international property conference, and discussed plans to build on these opportunities next March.
Thanks to an inclusive and stimulating new programme of events, and a record delegation of 113 companies all hosted in the impressive new Manchester Pavilion, 2017 was Manchester’s most successful MIPIM since it began exhibiting in 2000.
Around 10,000 delegates visited The Manchester Pavilion over the four days of MIPIM, including speakers from Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Lyon and Stockholm. The Partnership’s biggest and most dedicated showing yet sparked up 3million impressions on Twitter, and caught the eye of The Wall Street Journal, The Australian, Le Monde, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and BBC North West.
Now, for MIPIM 2018, the Partnership is looking to refine its approach and ensure that next year’s delegation is able to build on this success.
Next March the Partnership will once again be based at The Manchester Pavilion, a 456m2 area of covered space consisting of:
The launch event heard speeches from Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council; Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood; and Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester.
Sir Richard Leese said: “Manchester has had a presence at MIPIM for the last 18 years now and that’s because we realised long ago that the future of the city lay in us having an international presence. The international development industry in its entirety is a key part of how we build that future, and so it’s important that we join with the private sector each year to maintain a presence at MIPIM.
“The Manchester Partnership is unusual amongst city stands in that although it has a civic presence from Greater Manchester councils, it has always been driven by the private sector, and that’s what MIPIM is all about. It’s about business, and the vital role the private sector is able to play in terms of growing the economy of the city-region, bring investment and create new jobs. Private sector partnership is absolutely at the core not just of our MIPIM Partnership but also core to how we grow the new Manchester.
“If the future of Greater Manchester is as an international city-region, which I believe that it is, we are not going to achieve this simply by sitting at home and waiting for people to come to us. We have to be out there, spreading our message in key market places. That’s why it’s so important that organisations from across the property industry join with us for MIPIM to ensure that the world knows Greater Manchester is open for business. So it gives me great pleasure to be leading on this project this year, and to be joining the delegation in Cannes next March.”
Sheona Southern said: “It’s a great pleasure to welcome faces familiar and new for the launch of the Manchester at MIPIM 2018 Partnership. Back in March the Partnership was able to do its best work to date in spreading the message that Greater Manchester is an open, inclusive, and forward-thinking international city-region, willing to work constructively with international investors to develop our unique offer.
“For MIPIM 2018 we want to build on the relationships we’ve established with international city-leaders, continue to catch the attention of strategic investors, and make Manchester the centre of the conversation over the week.”
MIPIM gathers the most influential players from all sectors of the international property industry for four days of networking, learning and transaction through premium events, conferences and dedicated exhibition zones.
Manchester at MIPIM is a private sector focused partnership, strategically led by Manchester City Council and coordinated by Marketing Manchester, with the aim of promoting the Greater Manchester city-region to an international audience of property professionals.
MIPIM 2018 will take place 13-16 March in Cannes, France.