‘THE WORLD CITY CONFERENCE: CAN LIVERPOOL BECOME A WORLD CITY?’ Walking tour, dinner, exhibition and conference at the Liverpool Crowne Plaza Hotel on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th, June 2006

The City of Liverpool is changing fast as it prepares for its year as European City of Culture in 2008 and also its 800th City anniversary in 2007. With more than  £2bn now being invested in once deprived areas as derelict buildings are re-developed and rapidly refurbished, rental levels are now increasing and projects such as Kings Waterfront/ St Paul’s Square/Mann Island are moving from simply 'concept' to reality:  note the Paradise Street project which represents the largest single city centre regeneration project currently on site in Western Europe. Exciting times for the City of Liverpool indeed as the City enjoys its period under the spotlight and the benefits from the committed £2bn investment to create this new Vision for Liverpool.

10% discount for first 100 bookings - Click here for registration information and to book online.

MIPIM Feedback

Apparently 22,000 'official' people registered for MIPIM in Cannes this year and judging by the buzz and general 'MIPIM madness' atmosphere, we would concur with these figures which are apparently 5,000 more than last year  A bi-product of the large numbers was the huge energy and vibrancy generated which is great 'fodder' for us at Battle Associates as we develop and look for good content in our conferences. 

Key issues and topics which we discovered as worth noting for future conference content included:

'As good as it gets?'  The evidence from the property investment sector was that the good times are here with boats, clippers, cars and stands all exhibiting the success of this sector.  Perhaps the wall of cash has arrived?  

'The Americans are coming..'  A number of US delegates were at MIPIM, all looking for opportunities in Europe.

'Regeneration is the key word'  The 'R' word is now being used across Europe and we had a number of conversations with Eastern European delegates wanting to understand our experiences of regeneration.

'Occupiers few and far between'  Not many occupiers in evidence this year.  It was all about Towns, Cities and the Metropolis.

'Moscow and Eastern Europe'  Eastern Europeans everywhere as were an increasing number of Far Eastern groups, no doubt in preparation for MIPIM Asia.

THE UK PROPERTY FORUM LAUNCH AT THE IVY COVENT GARDEN

On 23rd February, Battle Associates launched the UK Property Forum at The Ivy Restaurant to invited guests. We presented the content for the three conferences planned in 2006 - Liverpool, London and Thames Valley - as well as creating feedback on the themes and issues driving the UK Property Forum. It was a success as it achieved these objectives and also gave us a chance to create dialogue with our potential audience.

One attendee was Julian Barwick, Joint MD, Development Securities, who recently talked to Estates Gazette and these were his words:

'Mixed Use in partnership: this is what our business is going to be about in the future. We are involved in mixed use everywhere now and we like it for two reasons.  One, it's more difficult and complex, which means we can operate it better to create value, and two, it gives us the opportunity to spread risk and combine uses on site.'

The launch of the event was also covered in Property Week as part of the Lee Mallett article on the Urban Regeneration Toolbox which will be delivered in November 2006 and is sponsored by many of the key regeneration agencies and companies active in this sector in the UK.

'Mixed Up Debate' will be a feature of all our conferences and events which we will be arranging in 2006. If you would like to join as a UK Property Forum Member, please visit the site by clicking here for more information on membership benefits, etc. and to register online.

Become a UK Property Forum Member now - Click here to join.