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Millions up for grabs
Lancashire Evening Post | 6th December 2010

Wealthy investors looking to pump tens of millions of pounds into fuelling a building boom have targeted Preston, it can be revealed.

They have up to £800m from unnamed “sovereign funds”, thought to be from an Arab state, and another wealthy benefactor, which they want to put into lucrative developments.

It could bankroll the development of huge swathes of the city with shops, restaurants, flats and leisure facilities.

Frank McKenna, chairman of business lobbying group Downtown Preston in Business, met a pair of London-based investors nearly two months ago, when they approached him for advice on where to invest in the North West.

They have since had further meetings with Eliot Ward, the chief executive of regeneration body Preston Vision, who described them as “very serious investors with access to significant funds.”

Mr McKenna said: “These people are very successful in their own righ. Both are multi-millionaires, but they have access to even wealthier people, household names in the financial world.

“They are part of a consortium of people, who have significant financial clout and who want to invest in Preston.”

But, he said that nearly two months after he informed Mr Ward of the investors’ interest, they are still waiting to fix up a meeting with Preston Council chief executive, Lorraine Norris.

In contrast, they have met with officials at both Salford and Liverpool, where they are also keen to invest, and are due to meet Manchester Council chief Sir Howard Bernstein in the coming weeks.

Mr McKenna said: “They have met with Eliot and come away buzzing with positivity about the potential for Preston, which I have also spoken with them about, and now they need to meet with the council, which is where the problem has come.

“They have had very positive meetings in both Liverpool and Salford, and I would imagine they will be looking to do something in the New Year, and yet in Preston they are still waiting for a meeting – it baffles me.”

Mr Ward said one of the investors was born in Preston, and keen to put “tens of millions of pounds” into developing parts of the city.

He described them as “well-connected and wealthy brokers” with access to “sovereign wealth” and “private family wealth.”

The Vision chief executive said: “They are looking for anything which brings them a return, because obviously traditional investment vehicles are not performing, and this can work to Preston’s benefit.

“There is massive potential for exactly the kind of development they are looking to bring about, and these are exactly the kind of people we need to be looking to attract here.”

The investors expressed an interest in Preston before the public inquiry reported back with a successful verdict on its £700m Tithebarn regeneration project, and Mr McKenna said that, while the success gave the city a “more positive sales pitch”, the interest is not directly linked to Tithebarn.

Preston Council leader Ken Hudson said: “We are interested in talking to everybody, but we obviously have a development agreement with Lend Lease (for Tithebarn).

“We are happy to put them in contact with Lend Lease.

“If somebody has that sort of money, we would hope to try and broker a deal some way or another.”