Region in the spotlight at UKREiiF
Developers and local authority partners came together with Invest Coventry & Warwickshire to showcase a range of opportunities, including a new £40m property development fund, at a leading UK property and development conference and exhibition.
The partners came together from the city and county to exhibit and present to over 7,000 delegates at the UK Real Estate Infrastructure and Investment (UKREiiF) Conference in Leeds from May 16-18. It brought together the public and private sectors, including national, regional and local Government, commercial and residential developers, investors and a range of intermediaries.
Invest Coventry & Warwickshire is the inward investment and place promotion service for Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council. The event was a first opportunity to promote the ‘Be Here’ message to the property community for the first time, together with an updated Invest Coventry & Warwickshire Investment Prospectus. The city and county has a pipeline of over 20m sqft of industrial space and 350,000sqft of grade A office, recently delivered or in development.
The Coventry & Warwickshire programme of activity included an event titled ‘Coventry & Warwickshire – Developing Success’ which featured panels on town and city regeneration and development, and out-of-town development. The panels discussed the positive development environment in the Coventry & Warwickshire region, where major schemes are being delivered, such as SEGRO Coventry Gateway and the Transforming Nuneaton Programme with Queensberry and the local authorities.
Warwickshire Property Development Group, Warwickshire County Council’s arms-length property company, exhibited together with Invest. The property company, formed two years ago in 2021, was there to promote its new joint venture with Countryside Partnerships which is a unique 30-year partnership which in the first few years will commence the delivery of nearly 2,000 new homes across the County, together with other residential and commercial developments, including its nine-unit 42,000sqft Sucham Park in Southam which is under construction.
UKREiiF was also an excellent opportunity to promote the recently launched Property & Infrastructure Fund (PIF), a new £40m fund from Warwickshire County Council which can loan between £500,000 and £10m for developer of new or existing property and infrastructure. The fund is being administered by CBRE on behalf of Warwickshire County Council, and is the property strand of the Warwickshire Recovery & Investment Fund (WRIF), a major £100m initiative launched to provide access to debt finance and safeguard businesses in, or those expanding to, Warwickshire from any of the adverse economic effects caused by the pandemic.
The city and county are a leading area for foreign direct investment - Warwickshire was the leading shire county for FDI investment in 2021, according to recent research. Last year was a record year for industrial letting in the Coventry market, which includes Warwickshire, according to property intelligence company CoStar, with over 5m sqft of industrial and warehouse space let.
The UKREiiF event also saw the launch of the updated West Midlands and Midlands Investment Prospectuses, which feature six Warwickshire developments, including MIRA South Site in North Warwickshire, Creative Quarter Leamington Spa, and for the first time Rugby Town Centre.
Martin Watson, Portfolio Holder for Economy and Place at Warwickshire County Council, said: “UKREiiF provided an excellent opportunity for a range of partners and teams to come together to promote the strong investment environment in the county of Warwickshire, and the excellent support available here for those wanting to invest in commercial or residential development.
"Our offer at UKREiiF included the new £40m Property Infrastructure Fund, and we were delighted to work alongside CBRE to promote it to the property community at this major show in Leeds. The property and infrastructure fund is a flexible investment scheme that can be deployed to help the development of new land or commercial space to support employment and the growth of the economy in Warwickshire."