The Manchester stand sessions held during MIPIM 2012 – the world’s premier real estate event – will cover key topics that will influence the future of Greater Manchester’s built environment, including science, sustainability, the media, Manchester’s international profile and the future of the city’s economy.      

Keynote speakers for the stand events include Juergen Maier, managing director of Siemens, Charlie Cornish, chief executive of Manchester Airport Group, David Partridge, chief executive of Argent, Chris Oglesby, chief executive of Bruntwood, David Pringle director of NOMA at the Co-operative Group, and Ian Simpson of Ian Simpson Architects.    

45 organisations have signed up to join the Manchester contingent at MIPIM 2012.  Its main sponsors include Argent Estates, MAG Developments, MIDAS and NOMA.

12 organisations join Manchester at MIPIM for the first time.  These include Barton Willmore, Gateley and Stride Treglown.        

Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, the agency responsible for coordinating the city’s presence at MIPIM, said: “Manchester’s stand events are an essential part of the MIPIM property conference – they provide an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the city’s partnership and to raise those all important questions about the potential growth of the city; amongst a significant crowd from the international property and business community.”

The Manchester stand sessions take place at 10.45 and 15.45 each day (09.45 and 14.45 GMT). 

As per last year, Manchester stand sessions will be streamed live from www.livestream.com/manchesteratmipim and also available to watch on the homepage of  www.manchesteratmipim.com 

Other partners for Manchester at MIPIM 2012 include: Manchester City Council, AECOM, Arup, BDP, Bluemantle Ltd, Bruntwood, Drivers Jonas Deloitte, GVA, Harvest Housing Group, Ian Simpson Architects, Laing O’Rourke, MBLA Architects & Urbanists, MediaCo, Siemens PLC

Associate members include: 5plus Architects Ltd, AFL Architects, Addleshaw, Goddard LLP, Allied London, Ask Property Developments Ltd, Barton Willmore, Bolton Council, The Carlyle Group, Cobbetts LLP, Gateley LLP, Habitat Contracts, Harworth Estates, Himor Group Ltd, Indigo Planning, Leach Rhodes Walker Architects, McGrigors LLP, Manchester Medi Park Airport City, Nikal Ltd, Overbury PLC, Planit-IE Ltd, Savills, Shepherd Construction, Squire Sanders, Stride Treglown, Town Centre Securities, Urban Splash and Willmott Dixon. 

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The appointment is a direct response to growth in the creative, digital and media sector in Manchester – a sector which is now reaping the benefits of many years of investment following the completion of developments such as MediaCityUK and The Sharp Project.

Commenting on her appointment, Sam said: “I am delighted to be joining MIDAS as Business Development Manager for the Creative Digital and Media Sectors, having witnessed firsthand the role they played in spearheading innovative and exciting developments such as The Sharp Project. This sector employs over 320,000 people from 31,000 businesses across the Northwest and I am looking forward to promoting Greater Manchester’s creative offering to overseas and national investors”.

Tim Newns, Chief Executive of MIDAS added: “Manchester is home to Europe’s second largest creative, digital and media industry and is now undeniably one of the most exciting places to work in the UK. Sam will add great focus to a key area for MIDAS and Greater Manchester and I would encourage both new and existing players in the sector to utilise Sam’s experience and capabilities in order to create further growth and sustain Manchester’s future as the creative heart of the North”.

MIDAS has also appointed Deborah Kelly formerly of Marketing Manchester as Business Development Executive, supporting a network of Business Development Managers at the agency.

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CeBIT offers an international platform for comparing notes on current industry trends, networking, and product presentations. Deutsche Messe AG has organized CeBIT in Hannover each spring since 1986.

More than 4,200 companies from over 70 countries participated at CeBIT 2011, including many firms which returned after a break of several years, such as Xerox, Canon, Epson, Siemens Enterprise Communications, HP and Motorola.

MIDAS will have a presence at CeBIT 2012 and is running a one-off seminar during the event to highlight Manchester’s digital sector.  More details will follow soon. 

For more information, please visit: www.cebit.de or contact Hannah Lucas on hannah.lucas@midas.org.uk

SMERUD have increased their Manchester based employees from 3 to 9 full time professionals. The recent additions bring with them a wealth of experience in drug development, with specialisms in clinical development planning, regulatory affairs, intellectual property management, biostatistics and quality assurance.

In conjunction with the talented clinical team already in place, this expansion underpins SMERUD’s commitment of supporting the needs of its existing clients in the local biotech sector and the UK life science industry.

SMERUD have also signed a 10 year lease on a newly refitted 3,500 sqft office suite occupying the top floor of Trafford House, overlooking Manchester United’s Football Ground. This is an 3 fold increase in space from the company’s previous Manchester office based at the Manchester Science Park and reflects the company’s continued success and ambition for future growth.

Knut Smerud, SMERUD’s  founder and CEO, commented: ‘We are very proud to be expanding our UK headquarters in Manchester. This expansion is part of our long term strategy to grow within the key UK marketplace and extend our service capabilities to meet the existing and future demands of the biotech sector within both the UK and EU.

Being Scandinavian in origin, we have always felt a common culture with Britain in general and the North-West in particular. For more than 15 years we have conducted Anglo-Nordic collaborative clinical trials with great success and always with friendly and very competent partners in the UK. 

On a personal note, our new location is also a childhood’s dream come true – I have been a keen supporter of Manchester United since the mid 70’s, and now finally being settled with an office literally overlooking Old Trafford is very motivating. We hope to make our Manchester base our own ‘Theatre of Dreams’’.

Tim Newns, Chief Executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency which works on behalf of the region to secure new business from overseas investors, commented: ‘It’s great news that SMERUD, an innovative multinational research company, has chosen Manchester to expand its UK operation”.

“SMERUD is a partner to a host of biotech companies and we’re delighted that they recognise the scale of Greater Manchester’s biomedical sector, and the potential business opportunities that it offers. MIDAS has worked with SMERUD for several years and will continue working closely to support their growth plans for the future.”

About SMERUD CRO:
The Smerud Medical Research Group (SMERUD) is a European clinical Contract Research Organisation (CRO) with offices in the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Russia.

Operating since 1993, SMERUD was the first privately owned CRO to establish themselves in all Nordic countries and currently employs approximately 80 specialists engaged in clinical research, regulatory affairs, data management, biostatistics, quality assurance, intellectual property and medical writing activities. The company can supply all operational services needed to develop a drug from first-in-man until marketing authorisation, with core competences in clinical project management and phase I–III monitoring in multiple therapeutic areas (involved in more than 800 clinical trials since inception).

In the last 4 years, SMERUD has demonstrated commitment to Research & Development (R&D) by opening an internal research department, and financing industry-academia partnership PhDs. This commitment and contribution to internally financed R&D makes SMERUD an atypical CRO.

Specifically, SMERUD are unique in our considerable experience working in collaboration with SMEs to gain European funding for proof-of-concept clinical trials; we were the first company to obtain clinical trial funding under the ‘Eurostars’ European Innovation programme and have an outstanding track record in assisting our partners to access this non-dilutive funding source.

As a relatively small company, SMERUD is ideally sized and experienced to be a preferred partner for biotech and biopharmaceutical companies in terms of managing clinical trials in a cost-effective setting.

Supply UK, an equipment hire and asset management company based in Stockport who also currently specialise in the water utility market through one of their divisions, will manufacture and distribute VTG products across Europe respectively, with direction from VTG’s headquarters in São Paulo.

The new operation – Vectora Europe – has been supported by MIDAS, Greater Manchester’s inward investment agency, which works on behalf of the region to secure new business from overseas investors.

The Vector Group is an advanced engineering group involved in the remote monitoring of water quality sensors and controls, in addition to its own unique and web-based software.  Vectora Europe will help to establish a presence for VTG’s innovative services across the European market. 

Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, said: “This is fantastic news for Greater Manchester’s manufacturing and distribution sector.  MIDAS, alongside its partners, has been proactive in developing opportunities in the Brazilian market for the last 18 months and it is great to see this work start to show through investment into Greater Manchester.

“We’ve met representatives of VTG on a number of occasions, most recently as part of a trade-mission to Brazil in November.  We’ve keenly encouraged the emergence of Vectora Europe and it’s great to see that our support has paid off.”

Richard Coffey, managing director of Supply UK, said: “This is an exciting time for our business.  Brazil is leading the way in software technology and we’re delighted to take the responsibility of delivering VTG’s services across Europe. Much of VTG’s technology-based products are not yet available in this part of the world.”

Speaking further about some of VTG’s innovative products, Coffey adds: “They’ve developed mobile phone-based technology which recognises change in water quality and alerts operators in seconds via their mobile phone. This allows safety decisions concerning water supplies – such as making immediate remote pressure adjustments and whether or not to temporarily restrict or shut down services accessing Vectora’s software – to be made quickly and effectively.

“The technology also allows users to remotely check water quality, bacteria levels, pressure and flows at home from mobile devices such as iPhones.”

Vectora Europe will initially operate from Supply UK’s centre in Stockport and will open three further locations across the UK in 2012.

The new partnership also incorporates Rochdale-based engineering firm Aquacheck, which has over 25-years expertise in the utilities business in manufacturing and supplying specialist products.   

The Vector Technology Group is an international organisation, offering engineering product solutions for the global oil, gas and utilities industries in the USA and Brazil. Their current clients include Petrobras, Goodyear, Shell, Sabesp, and Gas Natural.

For more information on Vectora:

www.vectorainc.com and www.vector-tecnologia.com.br

 For more information on Supply UK, please visit www.supplyuk.co.uk

For more information on Aquacheck: www.aqua-check.co.uk

His visit was coordinated by Manchester Science Parks (MSP) with support from MIDAS, Bionow and the NHS. Chris has over thirty years experience in the Pharmaceutical industry, with previous roles as the president of the ABPI, and as president of AstraZeneca UK. He is currently the chairman of the UK Life Science Marketing Board.

The visit to Manchester included a detailed overview of the biomedical industry in the region followed by a working lunch and round-table discussion with representatives from life sciences companies including Phagenesis and QIAGEN.

Chris also visited the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Clinical Campus, and Icon Development Solutions’ Clinical Trials Unit.

Speaking of his visit, Brinsmead said: “Manchester is a centre of excellence for life sciences and is a part of one of the UK’s top three biomedical regions – the North West. Therefore, today’s visit has been an incredibly important opportunity to learn and understand more about the developments that are currently taking place.

“It is clear that Manchester has plenty to offer, with exciting projects in the pipeline such as the Medipark at the Airport City Enterprise Zone, the redevelopment of the Former Royal Eye Hospital and the ongoing development of the many research centres which populate the Corridor on Oxford Road.

“Manchester demonstrates that it has the capacity for growth in terms of jobs creation and investment in the life sciences sector building on the many companies and projects which are already based in the region.”

“I will be ensuring that its many innovative hubs, such as the University of Manchester; commercial facilities such as Manchester Science Parks; and the region’s NHS organisations, continue to be acknowledged at a strategic level within government.”

Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, said: “Chris is a keen ambassador for Manchester; he recognises the importance of the life sciences and biomedical sector to the region and is doing everything that he can to champion the UK as a location for life science activity and Manchester as a key centre.”

“There are over 280 biomedical companies in the North West region, employing more than 22,000 people. Our infrastructure includes world-class academic institutions such as the University of Manchester and dedicated centres such as Manchester Science Parks.

“Coupled with the strong working partnerships that are currently in place between MIDAS ,UKTI and Bionow, I’m confident that we can ensure the region retains a prominent role in life sciences, and that we’re well-equipped to nurture international investment from this important field.”

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Designated as one of the UK Governments new Enterprise Zones last March, the Airport City project has received a substantial amount of interest and the detailed masterplan created by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), sets out the vision to transform Manchester Airport from a transport hub into an international business destination in its own right.

Building on the global connectivity offered by the airport location, the 150-acre regeneration scheme will deliver over five-million square feet of new high-quality business premises, with the aim of attracting international companies that would not previously have located in the region, or even the UK.

Becoming fully operational from April 2012, it is estimated that the wider 116-hectare Manchester Enterprise Zone will create up to 20,000 new jobs over the next 15-years. The Airport City project will be a focal point of the Manchester Enterprise Zone proposition, alongside a MediPark development at University Hospital South Manchester and Wythenshawe town centre sites all linked by a new Metrolink tramline currently under construction and complemented by a series of smaller opportunity sites in across South Manchester.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: Airport City will fill the gap in the market that currently exists for a high quality and well-connected environment for businesses that need access to a major British city and to a global marketplace. Airport City will provide an innovative and complementary offer to Greater Manchesters existing assets, rather than competing against them, adding new capacity to the city’s existing dynamic economy. Manchester is well placed with an international offer based on established academic research and technology, innovative businesses, communications and transport infrastructure.

The detailed stage two Masterplan for Airport City, unveiled today, identifies the creation of two core Airport City zones. The first is a development area adjacent to the airports existing railway station and to north of the M56, which will focus on hotel, office, retail and advanced manufacturing uses whilst a second area adjacent to the existing cargo centre at Junction 6 of the M56, will focus on freight and logistics uses. In total, over the next 12-15 years, Airport City will deliver:

• 1.5 million sqft of offices
• 650,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing
• Up to 100,000sqft of retail and leisure
• Approximately 2,500 hotel beds
• 1.4 million sq ft logistics & warehousing

This stage of the Masterplanning has focused on reviewing the concept for Airport City and how Manchester can interpret elements of existing Airport Cities across the world in its own unique fashion, including what it looks like, how the infrastructure works and how the development integrates with both the existing airport campus itself, and surrounding neighbourhoods such as Wythenshawe.

Sustainability and connectivity are identified in the Masterplan as the key elements in the design the main central business district of Airport City to the north of the M56 will be linked to the airport terminals and The Station by a series of wide, landscaped green bridges based on New Yorks elevated urban park, the Highline. This will ensure that every part of the northern Airport City zone is within an eight-minute walk from the airports coach, bus and rail hub. A new Metrolink line to the airport and Wythenshawe is now under-construction and will also serve Airport City when it opens 2016.

A landscaped Central Park area of over 800m long, featuring a number of pavilions and a large-scale event space, will form the centrepiece of Airport City, along with traditional components of a conventional city centre such as retail outlets, coffee houses, bars and restaurants. The Central Park will also integrate with the existing green space at Painswick Park in order to provide greater connectivity from Wythenshawes Woodhouse Park housing estate so that Painswick Park benefits from a series of regenerative enhancements as a result.

Airport City’s commercial property offering will accommodate a mix of uses and will provide bespoke, high quality environments designed to appeal to graduates, entrepreneurs, global businesses and creating a highly skilled local workforce operating in sectors including: Advanced Manufacturing; Research & Development; Pharmaceuticals & Health; Professional Services; Science & Research; IT & Telecommunications; Retail & Leisure; Hotel & Conferencing, as well as aviation and cargo-related businesses. The architectural approach will be to create high quality, distinctive, contemporary new buildings, all designed and constructed to the highest possible BREEAM and LEED environmental standards.

Charlie Cornish, Chief Executive of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), said: Airport City is a concept we have been developing for a number of years and we are now at a critical stage in the projects life as we bring it to the market and commence phase one. We were enthused by the Governments recognition of Airport Citys potential when it was named as the focal point of their new Enterprise Zone, as we feel that this project presents a generational opportunity not only for the wider region, but nationally in order to attract new investment to the UK during the economic downturn.

Manchester Airports Group is currently preparing to undertake the first stage delivery of the project, which will involve the creation of key road elements, landscaping, infrastructure and utility provision, all of which will help enable the first phase of development plots. Planning permission for the main site link road is due to be submitted within the next few weeks and upon approval could see work start in spring, with completion within 12-15months. The new spine road opens up the site for development and whilst demand will drive the initial phases, the design is such that several plots and areas can be developed at the same time, giving maximum flexibility of location to occupiers.

Since the enterprise zone designation in March 2011, there has been a huge amount of interest in this project of the hundreds received, around 60 are considered to be potential occupiers and around a quarter of those are currently progressing and in discussion with MAG about locating at Airport City.

The first phase delivery area is anticipated to create up to 1.85 million square feet of new business space. An Expression of Interest Document detailing the Airport City opportunity will be officially released through an open competitive process in February 2012, as Manchester Airports Group seeks to engage potential development partners to assist in the delivery of the project.

The University Hospital of South Manchester (UHSM), a world-class research hospital and centre of clinical excellence, is also at the centre of a number of initiatives that can take advantage of sites for the creation of a medical and related services complex within the Enterprise Zone, building on its academic support by the University of Manchester. The successful development of the Airport City and MediPark concepts will greatly expand the current local role of Wythenshawe town centre as it supports and takes advantage of the economic energy generated by these two core initiatives, buoyed by the additional connectivity created by the new Metrolink line.

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For more information please or to request and interview, contact the Manchester Airports Group press office on +44 (0) 161 489 2700 or email: press.office@manairport.co.uk

Three national healthcare science conferences by the MS Society, British Dental Society and British Cardiovascular Society will bring a combined estimated 8,700 delegates and an economic impact of approximately £11.7m in April and May. The three conferences will be held at Manchester Central Convention Complex.

These will be promptly followed by a 4,500 delegate contingent and £7.3m injection in June, when the Chartered Institute of Housing Annual Conference and Exhibition takes place in the city.

The healthcare conference theme will continue at an international level when researchers from around the world descend on the city for the Meeting of the International Association of Breast Cancer Research in April, the 8th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias in September, and the Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Sleep Disorders in December.

Nuclear research is another key conference theme in 2012 as the city will host three international nuclear conferences including the European Nuclear Society (ENS) Top Fuel Conference in September, the Congress of the International Nuclear Law Association in October, and the ENS European Nuclear Conference in December.

Other significant international conferences include the British Council for Offices Annual Conference in May; the Annual Conference of European Biosafety Association in June; the European Microscopy Congress in September; and the ICA Expo Coop 2012 in October/November.

The total economic impact of the above international conferences is estimated to be £21.6m.

 The Labour Party will also return in September (30 Sept – 4 Oct) for their Annual Party Conference at Manchester Central, bringing with it an expected £18.2m in economic impact. Their return further strengthens the city’s position on the coveted political party conference circuit and follows the Conservative Party Conference which took place in October 2011.

Commenting on the year ahead, Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “We’re delighted that Manchester continues to excel in the area of conference and business tourism, which is testament to the incredible conference facilities we have on offer. “It is especially encouraging to see so many science and research conferences visiting the city in 2012 given Manchester’s proud scientific history and the research of our world class Universities.

“Coincidentally, this year the city will mark the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing, one of the city’s finest scientific achievers, with numerous exhibitions and events throughout the year. Science will therefore be at the forefront of the Manchester psyche in 2012 so it’s a great year for science and research professionals to stopover.

“There have been major developments in Greater Manchester’s conference product over recent years, in terms of developing the infrastructure and support services that organisers expect of a first-rate conference destination and we’re confident the city-region will continue to generate a significant economic benefit from this sector in the future.”

Manchester’s business tourism industry generates over £570 million a year for the city-region economy and attracts some 4.2m delegates to the city. For more information about the work of Visit Manchester to attract conferences to the city, check out: www.visitmanchester.com/conference

The panels are:

Panel 1 – Financial Services Experts 

Some of Manchester’s most prominent financiers are being lined up to help leverage the Green Bank investments with structured finance options and help engage with advisors in the sector.  

Panel 2 – Green Economy Experts 

A panel of professionals rich in project appraisal and assessment skills will engage with those at the forefront of green thought leadership. Freethinkers and those with technical and engineering skills will work together to ensure the Green Investment Bank gets the assistance and advice required to make the Manchester location a success.

Panel 3 – Professional Experts 

Using the existing pro.manchester membership pool, this panel of experienced professionals will advise on legal affairs, contract law, corporate compliance, risk management, accounts, treasury management, HR, facilities management, information technology and communications management. 

Panel 4 – Specialist Recruitment

A team of advisers and recruitment specialists in financial services and professional services familiar with the local and national market place will help appoint a team of over fifty specialists and support staff. 

Manchester’s Green Investment Bank campaign team has already rallied support from key advocates in the city, as highlighted in a series of video interviews - click here. 

This is the latest move from the campaign team, led by Pro Manchester chief executive John Ashcroft. He said: “The Government has said the Green Investment Bank will be based in a location that offers close proximity to players in the wider green and financial markets. What could be better than to work with the four key advisory panels already in situ here in Manchester.

“We’ve already made headway in appointing some members of the panels from our rich eco system of talent and look forward to announcing key individuals in the near future.”

The team believes that Manchester’s financial and professional services businesses plus the presence of big name players such as RBS Global and BNY Mellon means that the city has the right credentials to create strong advisory panels.

He adds: “There’s an obvious commercial appeal to Manchester that makes it the most viable option for the Green Investment Bank. The city is rich in private sector financiers, green businesses and political decision makers who have a proven track record in working together with success.”

For more information on the Financial and Professional Services sector in Manchester, please click here

The inaugural ceremony took place to highlight the success of companies involved with overseas business and those international businesses investing in the North West. Qiagen, whose headquarters are based in Dusseldorf, Germany, were selected based on their record for innovation and for their commitment to Manchester. The company is based at Manchester Science Park and, following its acquisition of DxS in 2009, has expanded local operations to establish a centre of excellence for companion diagnostics. This move has created 80 jobs for the company, which now employs 140 people in the city.

Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, said: “I’m delighted to present this award to Qiagen. Their organisation has demonstrated a passionate commitment to the region, bringing an 80-person bio-medical project to Manchester within the last 18-months. “Qiagen is fantastic example of the type of business that we seek to engage with in Manchester and I wish them every success with their ongoing developments across the region and the wider North West.”

The Insider International Trade Awards took place at the Lowry Hotel, bringing together 300 business leaders to celebrate the North West’s successes in export and attracting overseas investment.

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