Lancashire and Manchester join forces for French exhibition

The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership is to exhibit at MIPIM International, the property and investment conference held annually in Cannes, France.

The LEP, which exhibited at MIPIM UK in London last autumn under the We Are Lancashire – the place for growth banner for the first time, has decided that for the MIPIM expo in France it will be part of the Manchester at MIPIM Partnership, based at the new Manchester Pavilion.

They will be promoting a wide range of new economic opportunities across the county including Lancashire’s new Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Cluster which includes the county’s four Enterprise Zone sites at Samlesbury, Warton, Blackpool Airport and Hillhouse in Wyre. Combined these sites provide a world-class offer to investors and occupiers within the advanced manufacturing, energy and engineering sectors with the potential to generate 10,000 new high value jobs.

The AMRC, which will be based at the Aerospace Enterprise Zone at Samlesbury, will see the LEP and its partners working closely with Sheffield University to create a centre of R&D excellence to help drive world class productivity and innovation gains through key SME supply chains.

Lancashire’s world class sectoral strengths in industries such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing and energy will also be a major part of the county’s pitch to investors and developers, as will the county’s unrivalled quality of life offer which was highlighted in the recent Channel 4 tv programme that declared Lancashire was not only home to the best place in the UK to live (South Ribble), but was also home to two other of the UK’s top ten most desirable and liveable destinations, the Ribble Valley and Lancaster.

Edwin Booth, chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership said: “When Lancashire attended MIPIM UK in London last year it was the first time the county had presented itself as a united region with a clear and compelling offer. The reaction from major investors, developers, funders and policy makers was extremely positive, especially with regards to Lancashire's Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Cluster of Enterprise Zone sites and our £434m transformational City Deal for Central Lancashire. As a result of this we decided to explore the opportunities offered by MIPIM in Cannes.

“In order to maximise Lancashire’s key role within the Powerhouse and to benefit from the growing international awareness of this initiative, we decided it would be strategically advantageous to partner with our neighbour, Manchester, as the city remains one of the strongest ‘attack brands’ within the Northern Powerhouse’s pitch to global investors.

“Lancashire’s position as the UK’s leading region for AEM and Aerospace activity also complements Manchester’s own economic strengths and sector specialisms, and we look forward to working with Manchester to promote the North West and the whole of the North of England as a credible investment destination.”

“Now, as Manchester at MIPIM prepares for its most high-profile year yet as part of an ever-stronger Northern Powerhouse, it’s a great pleasure to be working with our neighbours in Lancashire. We look forward to promoting our mutual and complementary strengths on this important international stage.