Our improving city has got them all talking

That was the message as more than 120 developers, investors and property professionals drawn from across the North West gathered in Preston for a special inward investment event.

At the heart of the discussions was the £434m City Deal programme which will boost Preston and South Ribble

Mike Horner, pictured, regional director of Muse Developments which is involved with the cinema element of the Markets Quarter project in Preston, said: “The scale and ambition of the City Deal, and the positive private-public approach that the City Deal partners have adopted, has really helped developers like ourselves get on with the job.

“The knock-on effect of getting large scale schemes like ours brought forward, in terms of getting other developers and investors excited about the potential of Preston and Central Lancashire is also very significant.

“For example, we are already dealing with enquiries from leading operators interested in the cinema scheme we are delivering, despite it being two years away from completion.

“Part of this is clearly down to the commercial potential that a thriving and prosperous Preston can offer investors, but a lot of the enthusiasm is also due to the reputation Lancashire is getting within the property world.”

Entitled “We Are Lancashire – The Place For Growth”, the event was organised by the City Deal Partnership, Marketing Lancashire and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.