The Alliance partners are pleased to announce that they will be returning to London in January 2024 to deliver a further programme of investor activity building on the inaugural Scottish Cities week programme delivered in January this year.
At a recent meeting the Scottish Cities Alliance Leadership Group, whose membership consists of the Leaders of Scotland’s eight cities and the Scottish Government minister with a cabinet portfolio responsibility for cities, gave their backing to Scottish Cities Week becoming an annual fixture in the Alliance’s investment promotion calendar of activity.
The Chair of the Alliance, Cllr John Alexander from Dundee City Council, said that he was “delighted” that the events programme will take place in London on 24th and 25th January 2024 advising that:
“This year’s event encapsulated the very best of partnership working with a 3-day programme of events developed with the cities, Scotland House London, Scottish Government, SDI, the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade, and 3Ci as well as a networking event in partnership with leading commercial real estate services firm CBRE. All together, these events provided us with a platform for city leaders and officers to meet with investors, asset managers, developers, property agents and others working in the real estate sector and showcase their cities’ investment potential, and for city leaders to share their city visions, priorities and ambitions with the private sector with the aim of attracting investment into Scotland and ultimately to creating jobs and wider economic opportunities.
“While investment decisions are generally taken over months and years rather than over much shorter timescales I am pleased to report that following valuable new connections made and discussions had in London during the inaugural Scottish Cities Week programme, a number of cities including my home city of Dundee have had follow up meetings and site visits from those with a genuine interest in investing in Scotland which is testament to the value in organising these bespoke events.”
Some key highlights
Feedback across the programme was overwhelmingly positive, with some key highlights noted including:
- An event moderated by Prof Greg Clark, Chair of 3Ci, showcasing the cities’ collective innovation economies with panel discussions involving city leaders and sectoral experts from CodeBase, CBRE and Bruntwood SciTech.
- A networking reception hosted by CBRE, the global leader in commercial real estate services and investments, at their recently refurbished UK HQ. Companies in attendance included Elite Partners Capital, Stamford Property Holdings, Forma Fund, and Vita Group.
- A roundtable discussion on the opportunities and challenges in the housing sector across the cities, chaired by Municipal’s Claire Bennie, and with participants from leading developers and funders including Moda, PfP Capital, Kajima, HUB, and Goodstone Living.
- A morning of engagements led by the Department for Business and Trade including an investor breakfast bringing together leading international real estate and infrastructure developers, funders and asset managers including Marubeni Europower, Mitsubishi, BCEGI and Edmond de Rothschild REIM; and a stakeholder engagement session, providing an opportunity for cities to get to know key officials in the DBT and the support available to cities to help attract investment, as well as an opportunity for city leaders to meet Lord Dominic Johnson CBE, Minister for Investment.
Collaboration and Growth
Commenting on his participation in the Housing roundtable, Apache Capital’s Ashley Perry noted the event “was a great example of public and private sector collaboration, which is even more important in the current climate. I was pleased to be able to share our view of the Scottish private rented sector… I look forward to the next SCA event!”
Reflecting on his participation in the Innovation panel session, BruntWood SciTech’s Jamie Clyde – who are redeveloping and transforming Glasgow’s iconic Met Tower into a dedicated digital and tech hub in the heart of the city – shared that “it was refreshing to hear [from the city leaders] both clear differentiation built on the strengths of each place and a real spirit of cooperation”. Post-event, the BruntWood SciTech team added “it’s events like this that re-establish why Bruntwood SciTech chose to invest in Scotland – expanding our portfolio outside of England for the first time. There’s opportunity for growth across the country in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Stirling and Dunfermline, and we’re excited to be playing a part in this next chapter of innovation.”
Looking Ahead
Plans for the 2024 programme are already in motion with the Alliance once again securing Prof. Greg Clark to moderate the programme, while the key venue will again be Scotland House, a distinctly Scottish event space in the heart of London.
Looking ahead to next year, Cllr Alexander is keen to
“continue working closely with our partners and stakeholders again to deliver a programme of events showcasing the breadth and depth of opportunities for investment across the Scottish cities, strengthening existing relationships and forging new connections to those with an interest in in investing in Scotland.”
The Scottish Cities Alliance is the unique collaboration of Scotland’s eight cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling – and the Scottish Government working together to promote the country’s great economic potential.
To learn more about the investment opportunities available across the eight cities, or to be kept up to date on the latest news, contact the Alliance’s Investment Lead, Lauren Pascu – lauren.pascu@scottishcities.org.uk or visit our website at www.scottishcities.org.uk
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