Manchester - 25.05.2023
In May, the Purposeful Finance Commission held our first roundtable discussion, welcoming key figures from local government, regional businesses, and the investment community to Greater Manchester.
Chaired by John Wrathmell, Director of Strategy, Research and Economy at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the group held a broad discussion on some of the successes and difficulties that the representatives had experienced in undertaking and attracting investment.
Attendees highlighted several difficulties they had faced in delivering long-term investment projects, including challenges with communication, competing incentives from the public and private sectors, and the challenges of ensuring a strong and stable surrounding ecosystem for investment projects. These challenges will be analysed in further detail in the Purposeful Finance Commission’s first report, due to be published in September 2023. This research will identify those areas of the country that have historically been underserved by both public and private investment, and where therefore the barriers to successful regeneration projects are highest.
The discussion on the barriers, however, should not diminish the significance of the success stories that participants shared. Attendees raised a number of examples of where investments had been successful, sharing best practice and the lessons they learnt from their experiences. Ground-breaking devolution deals, including the handing of control of a £150m brownfield development grant to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, were also praised for allowing regional leaders greater freedom and creating a stronger and more certain environment for the private sector to operate in as a result.
Overall, the key theme that emerged in Manchester was that effective cooperation between the public and private sectors is an integral factor in the delivery of successful regeneration projects. This theme was considered in more detail in our second roundtable event, focusing on the role of public-private partnerships in addressing barriers to investment.
You can read more about our roundtable in Wirral . For more information on the PFC, and to get involved in the project, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
insert link to wirral round up
Manchester Attendees:
Pension Insurance Corporation: Florence Carasse and James Agar
Greater Manchester Combined Authority: John Wrathmell and Laura Blakey
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce: Clive Memmott
Praetura Ventures: Ben Davies
Growth Company: Ben Odams
Greater Manchester Pension Fund: Alex Jones
Rochdale Development Agency: Richard Duddell
Calisen: Chris Stylianidis
British Property Federation: Ion Fletcher
WPI Strategy: Ed Emerson and Jake Pennington
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