NOTTINGHAM looks set to make a series of major announcements about investments in the city at the MIPIM property conference, which gets under way in Cannes today.
The city has joined forces with the Local Enterprise Partnership, D2N2 and Derby to take a stand in the Palais De Festivals, the exhibition centre on the Cannes waterfront.
More than 20,000 property and development professionals are expected to attend MIPIM, which runs from today until Friday.
Though details have yet to be revealed, it is thought a number of announcements will be made at a series of events held by Team Nottingham, the private sector group which represents the city.
The team includes representatives from a number of city business – Alliance Boots, Innes England, Gleeds, Geldards, Morgan Tucker, Rizk McCay, Cartwright Communications, Couch Perry & Wilkes, CPMG Architects and Miller Birch
They are joined by Jackie Sadek's UK Regeneration, an urban development specialist hoping to build on a site in the city; Invest in Nottingham, the inward investment division of the city council; and Nottingham Regeneration, which advises on redevelopment of city sites.
The formal delegation will hold a number of events where potential inward investors will be told about plans for the city, including a dinner and a drinks reception.
But the city is also represented by a number of other businesses that have travelled to Cannes independently, among them architects Benoy, Maber and Lewis & Hickey, engineers BWB Consulting and Elliott Wood and property consultancy FHP.
The delegation is being joined today by Councillor Jon Collins, leader of Nottingham City Council, who has cycled down to Cannes to raise money for the Karen Green Foundation, a charity that raises money towards the fight against leukaemia in memory of a Cotgrave woman who died from the disease.
He said: "This is an important cause and I'm pleased to do what I can to bring the foundation's goals closer to reality. A few years ago, we raised over £25,000 by completing the Three Peaks Challenge in under 24 hours for the Danielle Beccan Trust.
"I hope this time I can raise a significant amount of money for another important cause."
Councillor Collins can be sponsored for his bike ride online at http://www.justgiving.com/Jonathan-Collins1.
He is expected to speak at the Team Nottingham dinner and will also join the leaders of a number of other major Midlands and Northern cities to talk about the potential economic impact of HS2, which is due to have a station at Toton when it is built in the early 2030s.
Nottingham City Council used to fund its own delegation to MIPIM, the biggest property development and investment exhibition in Europe, but pulled out for financial reasons three years ago.
Since then, the city's presence has been spearheaded by the privately-funded Team Nottingham group, which also pays for the presence of key inward investment officers from the council.
Nottingham hit the headlines at MIPIM twice last year, receiving an award from a division of the Financial Times for being one of the best business cities in Europe, and being chosen by UK Regeneration for a proposed pilot rented-property project.
Innes England director Tim Garratt, who helps to lead Team Nottingham, said: "That Nottinghamshire is partnering Derby and Derbyshire this year with the LEP and the attendance Peter Richardson at Cannes strengthens our efforts even further and shows a united, regional approach to our efforts.
"The private sector partners involved in this year's delegation to MIPIM had no difficulty making a business case for being there.
"We have opportunities to market, requirements to compete for and we wanted to make sure that the Team Nottingham brand was out there and visible at the biggest event on Europe's property and investment calendar. We are pleased to be taking Invest in Nottingham, which won't be making a financial contribution – but we felt we needed their expertise and knowledge."