Scottish Cities Alliance

The Scottish Cities Alliance attended two property events in October, Expo Real and Mipim UK, with a portfolio of exciting investor propositions worth several billion pounds across Scotland. The breadth of opportunity available highlights Scotland’s seven cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling.

Expo Real 2017 – Munich, Germany

The SCA collaborated with Property EU to secure a stand partnership. This allowed the alliance to utilise the space for holding meetings with journalists and investors.

To maximise its exposure to investors, the SCA also spoke at a series of high profile conference panels including:

• Planning and Partnerships Forum: Glasgow City Council Leader, Susan Aitken, spoke about investing in adaptable cities.
• Residential Investment Briefing: Peter Noad discussed Scottish Government initiatives to make Scotland an attractive market for PRS foreign investors.
• Sustainable Investment in European Cities: A Panel discussion where Stuart Black highlighted how quality of life and investment go hand in hand and also how the seven cities are working together to improve sustainability in buildings.
• Investment Locations Forum: Stuart black discussed the strengths of Scotland’s education, tourism and renewables.

The Alliance also featured in numerous publications as a result of attending Expo Real. This includes; a quote from Stuart Black on Bavarian twin cities in Property EU, coverage in the Expo Real Daily News and a podcast on Estates Gazette where Stuart Black discusses several key messages for investing in Scotland.

Mipim UK – London, United Kingdom

The Alliance was the official bag sponsor for the event, therefore all delegates received an SCA bag at the entrance of the event. On top of this, city representatives spoke at various speaking opportunities:

• Future Cities panel: Kyle Barrie discussed what the future of cities looks like, from circular cites to smart cities to city clustering.
• Collaborative Investment Propositions in Scotland: Stuart Black, Fionna Kell & Matt Lockley led a Scottish Investment conversation at the DiT stand on day one at Mipim UK, this was followed by a successful networking session.

Kyle Barrie, Economic Development Project Officer at Stirling Council, also wrote a blog on future cities and driving the circular economy that was published on Global Real Estate Experts ahead of the event. Kyle has recently completed a masters in Energy Management at Stirling University and he picked up a distinction on his thesis focusing on the Circular Economy and the Built Environment.