Peel signs up to IFB
Peel Group has agreed to sponsor the UK's International Festival for Business, hosted in Liverpool and the wider North West in June and July this year, to promote its extensive media, port and property development interests.
Peel sponsored Liverpool's presence at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The sponsorship package includes a financial investment from Peel as well as in-kind support, understood to include erecting an event venue on its dock estate during the festival.
Peel Land & Property is behind the Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters schemes to redevelop the city's waterfronts. Peel Ports is responsible for the development of the new Liverpool 2 container terminal.
IFB 2014 will take place during June and July. It is a UK government-supported initiative to drive global business connections. Organiser Liverpool Vision estimates 250,000 people will visit the city during the festival, many from overseas, and more than 100 events are scheduled to take place over the two-month period. Peel is also the joint headline sponsor of the World Corporate Games that take place in Liverpool between 26 – 29 June 2014 and form part of the International Festival for Business.
Lindsey Ashworth, development director at Peel, said: "Our vision for Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters has already taken us around the globe as we promote the Liverpool city region and the UK to potential inward investors. The festival provides us with the perfect platform on which to build on and continue the excellent progress already made with these projects.
"We're working hard with the International Festival for Business to leverage the many overseas contacts we've made in recent years."
Liverpool Mayor Cllr Joe Anderson said: "The festival will give businesses of whatever size an opportunity to work with government, with trade bodies and with supply partners to open discussions with overseas customers. It is dialogue and human contact that pushes a sale over the line and the IFB provides the region's businesses with the perfect platform, on home turf, to win in new markets."
Ian McCarthy, director of the International Festival for Business, welcomed the commitment from Peel and said that he was in advanced discussions with other sponsors. He added: "We're starting to hit our stride in terms of negotiations and we're delighted that one of the North West's leading investors and employers has recognised the value we bring to businesses seeking to boost their profile in overseas markets.
