On the 2^nd March ULI hosted a highly informative roundtable that discussed the performance of cities within the context of business friendliness, investment and devolution. Rosemary Feenan Director of Cities Research Centre, JLL and Chair, ULI Europe Policy and Practice Committee facilitated a dynamic discussion with presentations from Andrew Carter, Acting Chief Executive, Centre for Cities and Alexander Jan, Director- Transaction Advice Team, Arup.

The scene was set by Andrew Carter who presented a synopsis of how UK cities are performing. Interestingly London and Bristol are the only cities which outperform the national index, yet London’s economy is unbalanced and possibly unsustainable. London’s lure also impacts the retention of talent for other cities where 60% of people who move to London end up staying in the South East.

2014-15 marks a possible turning point where increasing city powers and devolution agreements could provide opportunities for cities to improve their investment and growth strategies. Andrew debated that cities need further financial certainty, enabling them to create local growth beyond the political horizons with national support for regional infrastructure development.

“We want Scandinavian Expenditure with US taxes” Alexander Jan

Alexander Jan then provided an economic perspective of how cities have performed and what limits their ability to grow. London’s population not only increased due to inward migration but also natural growth yet this could be limited by city connectivity and a lack of national infrastructure investment, which has declined over the last 15 years.

Furthermore SME’s contribute 49.8% to the UK economy yet this indicates an underperformance when compared to the EU average of 60%. National policies provide a disincentives for Local Authorities and Cities to offer services and growth and this could be the underlying reason UK cities are under performing. Devolution will see this increase yet economic powers still remains at with Central Government.

The roundtable highlighted there is an uncertainty as to the benefits that devolution may bring and that real estate is yet to respond to the opportunities. There is therefore a need for a more joined up approach and ULI and the Centre for Cites are planning deliver further events based on this topic in the near future.

View Andrew Carter’s Presentation Here: Andrew Carter_Centre for Cities_Devolution and City Dynamics

Special thank you to Strutt and Parker for hosting this informative event.