Will investment forum pay off for Cumbria?

Around 16,000 investors, developers and politicians are said to have attended this week’s UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.

But after three days of showcasing the county, the battle for Cumbria’s share of national investment is now poised to begin.

The county was well represented with both councils and Enterprising Cumbria hosting a pavilion where talks and presentations were staged alongside partners and some high profile supporters from the world of business and politics sponsored by Barrow Rising, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Nuclear Waste Services and Sellafield Ltd.

“It’s an ideal opportunity for public and private sectors to get together and from our perspective highlight what the investment opportunities are,” Westmorland and Furness Council leader Jonathan Brook told Business Crack from the forum.

“For us in Westmorland and Furness, Barrow is a key one and there was a lot of interest in Team Barrow.”

The event was used to launch the Barrow Rising initiative to a wide audience with session sponsors including BAE Systems, Electricity North West, Fibrus, Genesis Homes, Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) and the Port Of Workington and corporate presence sponsor Galliford Try.

With full price tickets at £1,300 plus VAT the forum is not cheap to attend but for Councillor Brook with competition for investment strong the county, he says, has to be seen on this kind of stage.

“ Right across Cumbria there are some exciting projects and prospects and I’d say this is the ideal place for us to come to encourage those investors to find out a little bit more.”

He added:  ”Whether it’s Bath and Bristol or Cambridge and Oxford, etc, they’re all here and I think it’s really important to be here because we believe that, that we’ve got some opportunities here that are unique across the country. We’ve got a good offer and this is the marketplace for investment in Britain.”

His Cumberland colleague agrees.

“We have spent an incredible few days at UKREiiF – they’ve been filled with inspiring and meaningful connections,” Mark Fryer the leader of Cumberland Council said.

“Our pavilion, shared jointly with Enterprising Cumbria and Westmorland and Furness Council, was a first for Cumbria and attracted hundreds of participants over the three days.

“We were able to connect with businesses across the sectors and take part in valuable conversations around regeneration, sustainability and economic development.

“This wasn’t the end of our journey and its now about building on the connections and conversations.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told the conference she wants to see new entrepreneurial housebuilders and community projects contribute to her “stretching” target of 1.5m homes to be built in the lifetime of this parliament.

For developers like Nicky Gordon, managing director of Genesis Homes, that might be good news but getting clear decisions locally remains an issue.

“I was immensely proud of Cumbria and thought the pavilion was excellent,” Mr Gordon said. “I’ve been saying for years ‘please, please please broadcast what our ambitions are’ and the programme itself was second to none. Each panel session was well attended.”

A member of Enterprising Cumbria’s economic growth board Mr Gordon says other regional areas are a ‘hotbed’ of activity and investors are looking for ventures to support.

“Once you get investment and pace into any kind of economic activity we all get the momentum behind, for example, St Cuthbert’s Garden Village, as a housing developer we will very quickly jump on because there is commitment and confidence,” Mr Gordon said.

“From this event for councils this is the start of engagement and they need to show commitment and pace to continue the traction that they will have generated. They will get requests now from investors who want to discuss further those opportunities that they’ve demonstrated.”

He added that the forum also helped in creating closer ties within Cumbria and hoped the event would signal more regular dialogue between the public and private sector.

“I did say to officers that what’s wrong is I’ve had to come to Leeds to talk about something we could talk about any day in Cumbria,” Mr Gordon said.

“On housing projects we have committed to getting around the table regularly to show commitment and to know that the opportunities exist.”

In the world of industrial innovation West Cumbria-based Industrial Solutions Hub who hosted a panel said the event had proved fruitful on a number of fronts.

“Regeneration is a long game but we’ve built some great relationships over the last couple of days and will nurture those towards accelerating our projects to fruition,” managing director Gary McKeating told Business Crack.

“It’s been useful to put time aside to work with the senior leadership team and leaders of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils to define and refine the next steps on a number of projects.”

Meanwhile the forum meant there was time to talk to other businesses in Cumbria about opportunities to collaborate.

“We’ve had initial conversations with BAE Systems on opening the doors for our robotics and manufacturing cluster to their supply chains,” Miranda Kirschel, programme director said.

Engineering entrepreneur Clyne Albertelli was among panellists and said he was proud to represent the county.

“Together, we can shape the conditions that let Cumbrian businesses thrive,” Clyne said. “My message was simple: Cumbria combines world-class technological innovation with the stunning landscapes of the Lake District – you really can have both.”

In an effort to demonstrate the variety of life on offer in Cumbria, the county’s tourism appeal and culinary delights were also showcased at the forum.

Suppliers of Cumbrian products at the exhibition pavilion included Carlisle Brewing Co, Cumbria Distilling Co, Eden Yard, Hawkshead Relish Company Ltd, John Watt and Son Coffee Roasters and Tea, Lakeland Bake Limited, Lakeland Mues, Mr Vikki’s, pladis Global/McVitie’s, Shed 1 Distillery Cumbria, The Toffee Shop, Penrith and the West Walls Brewing Co.

“There was real unity, commitment and enthusiasm from Team Cumbria to highlight our investment ready opportunities and drive forward significant, tangible projects that support delivery of the newly launched Cumbria Economic Strategy,” Gill Haigh, managing director, of Cumbria Tourism said.

“It was really encouraging to see such strong interest from investors throughout the event, and it was inspiring to be part of such a joined-up team alongside our local councils and partners, championing the vital role of the visitor economy as a driver for investment.

“I’m confident the connections and conversations made possible through the efforts of Enterprising Cumbria, the councils and all our partners will open up new opportunities and deliver long-term benefits for Cumbria’s economy.”

The proof of success will be how soon before the countless conversations, coffees and collateral from events like this deliver investment in Cumbria.

For Dianne Richardson, the chief executive of Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster, that is the result she and others will be keen to see.

“One of the most frequent issues raised by our members since I came into this role has been the lack of a strong, unified voice for Cumbria to investors,” she said.

“It’s a real positive to see a strong contingent going to UKREiif to talk to those investors. It’s important that this goes beyond this week’s conference though. Attending an event isn’t enough, you have to do the follow up.

“The success or failure of the conference hinges on whether Cumbria is successful in attracting that investment moving forward. Put simply can Enterprising Cumbria and the councils clinch the sale?”

Cllr Brook acknowledges the challenges he and his Cumberland colleagues face but is adamant the face to face conversations with investors in Leeds will make a difference.

“We’ve made those initial contacts here; they understand what our offer is,” he said. “Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty detail and we’ll be doing that over the coming months.”