This Is Tees Valley showcased at national real estate forum
FEATURE
Selling our region- Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen in discussion with CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith at UKREiiF
Fying the Tees flag with pride
Smiles- Business development manager Julie Leonard( right) with James Smith and Rachel Massey of K2 Construction Management at UKREiiF.
This Is Tees Valley showcased at national real estate forum
Tees Business proudly flew the flag for the Tees region when attending UKREiiF – the UK’ s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum – at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
Tees Business director Dave Allan and new business development manager Julie Leonard were among thousands of delegates attending the major national event, which is designed to unlock investment and drive regeneration and development opportunities across the UK.
This year’ s UKREiiF attracted more than 16,000 people across three days, bringing together developers, investors, local authorities, businesses, government representatives and infrastructure leaders from across the country.
Tees Valley Combined Authority exhibited throughout all three days of the event, helping showcase the region to hundreds of delegates and potential investors from across the UK.
And there was a real buzz surrounding the Tees Valley section throughout the event.
Dave and Julie attended to promote This Is Tees Valley – the national annual publication produced by Resolution Media and Publishing, the team behind Tees Business – which showcases some of the region’ s biggest success stories, investment opportunities, projects and businesses to audiences across the UK and beyond.
They also spent time meeting business leaders, strengthening relationships and promoting the Tees region more generally as a growing and ambitious place to invest, work and do business.
Many delegates attended an on-stage discussion between Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith.
During their chat, mayor Houchen told attendees from across the country:“ There are great opportunities in Teesside. When I go to London, I find the hardest thing is getting people and investors to come to the region, because as soon as we get them there, I know that they’ re not going away.
“ I do see the country struggling, but I see that as a huge opportunity for the Tees Valley.
“ If you’ re in the creative industries and you want to do film production, get to the supply chains and build infrastructure around it, we’ re building the Screen Industries Production Village in Hartlepool. We’ ve got Darlington Economic Campus, so if you want a career as a senior civil servant in the Treasury, you can now do that.
“ We’ ve got great tech centres in Middlesbrough- you want to build more commercial space? We can do it. Go out into Redcar and look at Teesworks- you want to build large-scale, energyintensive industries? You want a million, two or three million square feet? You’ ll get planning permission in 12 weeks and can start construction. And, in Stockton, you’ ve got the incredible redevelopment that’ s coming together there.”
Dave Allan said attending UKREiiF was an important opportunity not only to promote This Is Tees Valley, but also to champion the wider Tees region on a national stage.
He said:“ UKREiiF has become the biggest and most influential business and investment event in the UK, so it’ s incredibly important for the Tees Valley to have a strong presence there.
“ There was a fantastic atmosphere and it was brilliant to see so many conversations taking place around investment, regeneration and future opportunities in our region.”
Julie added that This Is Tees Valley continues to play an important role in helping tell the positive story of the region to external audiences.
She said:“ This Is Tees Valley is all about showcasing the incredible projects, businesses and people we have across our region.
“ We’ re passionate about talking up Teesside and promoting the area nationally, so events like UKREiiF are a brilliant platform for us to continue doing that.
“ It’ s not just about promoting our publication – it’ s about helping raise awareness of the opportunities, ambition and momentum we have here in the Tees Valley.”
To get involved in This Is Tees Valley or Tees Business, call the team on 01642 450255 or email info @ teesbusiness. co. uk.
116 | Tees Business