Nottingham Regeneration Limited

Invest in Nottingham Day - London 2011

More than 200 people gathered at the St Pancras Hotel in London to promote Nottingham to a national and international audience of major developers and investors.

The event, hosted by the Invest in Nottingham Club, the private-public partnership set up to help promote and grow the East Midlands' commercial capital, was deemed a great success by attending developers and stakeholders.

The club is now limbering up for a second event in Nottingham on 19 September - the Invest in Nottingham Day when high profile business heads will be invited to the city to see for themselves what Nottingham has to offer.

Richard Bowler, who heads the Victoria Centre Shopping Centre, said: "Events like this are hugely beneficial at a time when Nottingham is on the verge of a massive transformation.

"For Capital Shopping Centres, it's vital that we shout about what it is happening in Nottingham. With the fifth best retail offering in the UK, Nottingham is a force to be reckoned with and we are committed to investing in its future with plans for a bigger, better, Victoria Centre. We need to get that message across to investors, ensuring that they know what huge potential the city has to offer."

Paul Southby, chair of the Invest in Nottingham Club, says the event was a way for Nottingham to "behave like a business", and proactively market itself to help promote and grow the city.

He said: "With events like this, we will be able to promote and grow the city - creating jobs for local people, strengthening the local economy, helping local firms expand and encouraging new companies to locate here."

Koolesh Shah, the owner two exclusive boutique Mercure hotels in London and Hotel Indigo was at the event and says he chose Nottingham for his first hotel outside the capital after looking at a number of locations. He is the owner of the historic George Hotel in George Street, Hockley which will become the latest Mercure Hotel with 77 rooms and a ballroom, and will open in September following a £3.5 million renovation.

"I was looking at other cities in the East Midlands, but chose Nottingham because it is the perfect place to be in terms of business and leisure," he said.

"I did look elsewhere but Nottingham worked particularly well. Nottingham will be our fifth hotel. I believe location is paramount when it comes to hotels. Nottingham City Council has been highly proactive during the planning and development process."

Home-grown attendees at the St Pancras event were Alliance Boots, Specsavers, Experian, Speedo, Paul Smith, along with companies from the creative sector and strong representation from Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County councils.

From outside the city, there were representatives from banks and investment firms including Lightstone Properties, Invista Real Estate, Ediston Property Fund, and Menta Developments.

Paul Hogkinson, chairman and chief executive of the Simons Group who is based in Lincoln and develops all over the UK particularly on major retail sites, said: "The event was a really good example of Nottingham coming to London, to get its story across to its main market makers

"I thought it was a great story of a regional capital that was making progress in a tough climate, but was not just waiting for events to happen to it; but in the spirit of enlightened self interest, was making its case and laying out its attractive offering to the city of London. The friendly East Midlanders again showed other parts of the country how to engage and respond in tough economic times."

Paul Southby added: "There were a number of international retail investors who were impressed with the Nottingham approach that we are behaving like a business - that we are setting out what we want to achieve and plotting a course to get there.

"We need to show investors and developers that Nottingham is in a very strong position to take advantage of a gradual return to growth in the UK economy, that it has a series of major investment opportunities, and that the senior figures across both private and public sectors are committed to helping existing and new businesses achieve their ambitions and the Club's members are now generating some superb enquiries."