Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       To report on the outcomes of Belfast at MIPIM 2018 and seek approval to attend MIPIM 2019.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

 

·        Note the outcomes from Belfast at MIPIM 2018 including the programme of events and media coverage generated.

·        Authorise officers to scope out options for re-positioning the Belfast stand at MIPIM 2019 to an area of higher footfall and / or increasing size of stand in current location.

·        Approve, in principle, that the existing £60,000 investment be enhanced by £20,000 to enable a larger stand to be provided, subject to officers presenting more detailed proposals at a later Committee.

·        Authorise officers to commence procurement for specialist support for programming, event management, communications, and design.

·        Approve attendance at MIPIM 2019 by the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Committee, or their nominated representatives.

·        Approve the attendance of a number of senior officers at MIPIM 2019 to promote Belfast through the delivery of presentations, meetings with potential investors and presentations of regeneration schemes.

 

 

3.0       Main report

 

3.1       MIPIM is the premier event in the European real estate calendar where many of the world’s investors, developers and funders from both the private and public sector, gather to showcase cities and investment and regeneration opportunities. Over 27,000 people attended MIPIM 2018.

 

3.2       Belfast at MIPIM Delegation

 

            A delegation of over 80 people attended MIPIM as part of the Belfast delegation. This was made up of 35 supporting private and public sector organisations. In total, £269,825 private sector sponsorship was raised for Belfast at MIPIM 2018. This is an increase from £240,350 of private sponsorship in 2017.

 

3.3       Organisations supporting Belfast at MIPIM 2018 included: Arup; Aurora Prime Real Estate; Belfast City Council; Belfast Harbour; Benmore Developments; Bruceshaw; Bywater Properties; Carson McDowell; Castlebrooke; Causeway Asset Management; CBRE; Cundall; Davidson McDowell; Deloitte; Heron Bros; Invest NI; Killultagh Estates; KPMG; Lacuna Developments; Lanyon Communications; Mascott; McAleer & Rushe; Mills Selig; Press Eye; Queen’s University Belfast; Richland Group; Signature Living; Sirocco; Titanic Quarter; TLT; TODD Architects; Tourism NI, Translink; Tughans and; Ulster University.

 

3.4       Belfast at MIPIM programme

 

            The 4-day event conference involved a concentrated programme of events, meetings and engagements which allowed us to showcase Belfast as an exciting location for investment. The Belfast at MIPIM 2018 Programme included:

 

·        15 unique events organised by Belfast at MIPIM. Each event was designed to highlight a range of key strengths that underpin Belfast’s strong investment proposition, including: Talent, Tax, Technology & Innovation, Locations, Fast Growth Sectors, Track Record for FDI and Quality of Life. Topics covered included:

 

-       Creating and shaping city neighbourhoods

-       Innovative thinking: Belfast - back to our future

-       Belfast: why culture matters

-       Belfast: accelerating growth with Eddie Irvine (ex. Ferrari formula one driver; real estate and technology investor – at no cost)

-       Real estate investor showcases. Projects presented included Belfast Waterside Regeneration Project, Giant’s Park, Titanic Quarter, the former Belfast Telegraph building, Weavers Cross and Signature Living's hotel developments

 

·        Presenting at events organised by other cities or partner organisations including:

 

-       UK Cities: The Future of Real Estate with Estates Gazette

-       Role of Culture in Re-urbanisation organised by Invest Newcastle

-       Culture, Art, Heritage & Sport organised by DIT

-       Global cities: The New Powerhouses, part of the MIPIM 2018 official programme

-       Collaboration, Not Competition: Integrated UK offer of Financial & Professional Services organised by DIT

-       City Brand: Marketing & Investment in a National/International Context organised by Marketing Liverpool

-       Creating an economically resilient city organised by Invest Newcastle and Estates Gazette

-       New opportunities in Europe’s Waterfront Cities organised by Marketing Liverpool

-       A wide range of meetings between our delegation members and funds, investors, occupiers and developers.

 

3.5       Belfast at MIPIM stand

 

3.5       The Belfast at MIPIM stand incorporated the new City brand and included eye-catching digital displays and a touchscreen display showcasing VU.CITY Belfast, the 3D interactive model of Belfast. This allowed potential investors and developers to view and interact with development and investment opportunities across the city.

 

3.6       With the support of Queen’s University Belfast, an electric DeLorean car was on display at MIPIM. Built in Belfast in the early 80s and made famous by the Back to the Future trilogy it demonstrated Belfast’s reputation for world-class talent and technological innovation and attracted significant interest from MIPIM attendees.

 

3.7       A dedicated Belfast at MIPIM investment guide was produced which highlighted Belfast’s proposition to potential investors. It included an overview of key sectors, investment opportunities, property market outlook and profile of the Belfast at MIPIM sponsors. This was available for potential investors and developers on the stand or download from a dedicated website that BCC City Centre Team produced promoting investment in Belfast – www.investinbelfast.com.

 

3.8       Media coverage

 

            Five media releases were issued during MIPIM 2018. These included releases to announce:  the Belfast delegation is set for MIPIM 2018; Floral Hall aspirations; The Sixth redevelopment; Giant’s Park development submissions; Waring Hotel announcement. These generated significant interest in Belfast from print, broadcast, trade and online media.

 

3.9       As of 22nd March 2018, over 73 media articles about Belfast have been published, with an estimated online coverage views of 407,000. Please note this does not include coverage achieved in print. This number is likely to increase with anticipated features in long lead trade and business press. The @BelfastMIPIM Twitter account issued 247 tweets and generated 6million impressions. The overall financial and reputational value is currently being researched to quantify the media coverage achieved.

 

3.10     The build-up to MIPIM 2018 also enjoyed significant media coverage. Four press releases were issued in the build-up to MIPIM, generating significant coverage.

 

3.11     Future focus

 

            In the immediate future, officers will be following up in leads generated at MIPIM. The statistics for the number of visitors to the Belfast at MIPIM stand are being collated and members will be updated once they have been received. Follow ups with potential investors are underway to translate this pipeline into tangible investments.

 

3.12     It should be noted that at MIPIM 2018 many of the regional cities from the UK significantly improved and increased the size of their stand, substantially raising their profile. This emphasises our need to continue to improve and raise Belfast’s profile at MIPIM. Members will be aware that for MIPIM 2018 requests were made to the event organisers to relocate or increase the size of the Belfast stand but they were unable to accommodate this request due to lack of alternative space.  For MIPIM 2019, further consideration is being given to the size and location of the Belfast stand. The 2018 stand was the same size as 2017, however we were limited in our ability to host larger groups and discussions and could only provide limited facilities for individual networking. In addition, while the Belfast programme successfully animated the stand, the location could be more prominent to obtain an increase in passing footfall and the opportunity for additional engagement.

 

3.13     The growing ambitions for 2019 underpins the requirement to start planning as soon as possible for MIPIM 2019 to ensure we can continue to deliver a programme that effectively markets Belfast as a location for investment.  

 

3.14     Members are therefore asked to:

 

o   Authorise officers to scope out options for re-positioning the Belfast stand at MIPIM 2019 to an area of higher footfall or increasing the size of the Belfast stand in its current location.

o   Approve in principle that the existing £60,000 investment be enhanced by £20,000, subject to officers presenting more detailed proposals at later Committee.

o   Authorise officers to commence procurement for specialist support for programming, event management, communications, and design for MIPIM 2019.

o   Authorise attendance at MIPIM 2019 of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, or nominated representatives, and the appropriate senior officers, to attend MIPIM 2019. To ensure costs are kept to a minimum, Members are asked to authorise the booking of hotels and flights at the earliest opportunity. MIPIM is attended by 24,000 delegates and accommodation is quickly booked out.

 

3.15     Equality and Good Relations Implications

 

            N/A

 

3.16     Financial and Resource Implications

 

            Finance: Members are asked to note that a balanced budget for Belfast at MIPIM 2018 was £329,825 (80% of which was raised from the private sector). Although excellent value for money, both in terms of partnership support and investment outcomes, the overall spend illustrates the high level of funding required to effectively market the city on the international stage.

 

            Resources: Effectively delivering a project on the scale of MIPIM is a very resource intensive activity. Belfast at MIPIM was delivered by Belfast City Council officers, the Belfast at MIPIM taskforce and Lanyon Communications, a communications agency appointed in September 2017 to assist with event management; PR, marketing and communication; sponsorship and stand design for MIPIM 2018.

 

3.17     Members are asked to approve the appointment of external support to assist with the delivery of MIPIM 2019. Subject to approval from Members, these will be funded through the public-private budget outlined above.”

 

            A number of Members stated that they felt that the Council’s contribution should remain the same and the private sector funding towards MIPIM increased.

 

            A Member expressed concern that, while they could see the advantages of attracting investment to Belfast at MIPIM, it should not be to the detriment of the inner city communities which lived in Belfast.

 

            A number of other Members stated that they believed that Belfast should seek to increase its presence at MIPIM in 2019 and that additional funding would be a worthwhile investment for the City.

 

After discussion, it was

 

            Moved by Councillor Beattie

            Seconded by Councillor Hargey,

 

      That the Council’s contribution towards the 2019 Belfast delegation to MIPIM is not enhanced by a further £20,000, and remains at £60,000.

 

            On a vote by show of hands, six Members voted for the proposal and nine against and it was accordingly declared lost.

 

            Accordingly, the Committee adopted the recommendations as set out in the report.