THE recent Autumn Budget made a firm statement for growth and improvement in public services, with a focus on regionality with six authorities with ‘track records of managing major programmes’ announced as eligible for integrated funding settlements to invest in their areas, including the West Midlands Combined Authority.
With this continued focus on regeneration opportunities and maximising public sector investments, leading procurement specialist Pagabo is launching a series of regional events aimed at driving further success and growth. The events will be further backed by the organisers of the largest built environment conference of the year, UKREiiF, for which Pagabo Group is returning as platinum partner for 2025.
The events intend to connect those in local government responsible for regeneration with innovative funders and developers, with the first event focusing on the West Midlands being hosted at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. The ‘Regional Investment Collabs’ will provide a centralised forum that serves as a platform of development success and springboards opportunities across the board. With space to not only explore options for upcoming developments, the events will also bring forward public sector procurement success stories – making sure that local government, developers and funders are all able to take learnings into their future projects and see a greater level of success as a result.
At Symphony Hall in Birmingham, a programme of panel discussions and talks will be accompanied by targeted networking to connect local and combined authorities directly with the developers who can turn their visions into reality. The programme will place focus on regeneration success in the West Midlands, the scale of opportunities and potential challenges, and how procurement and social value fits into the bigger picture.
Jonathan Parker, development director at Pagabo, said: “There’s a palpable feeling across the country of the opportunity that lies ahead, especially when looking at plans to unblock the planning process and push development and housing forwards. The greatest success comes, however, from that bigger picture regeneration – going beyond the development of just one project or small site.
“No one party can create large-scale development by themselves, and that’s where relationships become central to success. Our Regional Investment Collabs are there to build and nurture relationships that drive that town and city-wide regeneration that brings about transformation not just from a built environment perspective, but from the social, economic and environmental side too.
“The West Midlands has already seen great success in many areas, such as the City West and St George’s developments in Wolverhampton which have been procured through the developer-led framework Pagabo manages. This being said, there’s a palpable feeling of the opportunity in front of us, and there is so much potential still to be unlocked in the West Midlands – from remediating disused brownfield sites to town or city-wide redevelopment.”
Attendees have already been confirmed from West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council, City of Wolverhampton Council, Coventry City Council, Lichfield District Council, West Midlands Growth, Staffordshire County Council, and Newcastle-upon-Lyme Borough Council.
During the day, a panel of leading UK funders will also share what they look for when deciding how to allocate investment in the West Midlands, seeking to help those local government officials in the room improve their bidding processes.
Matt Christie, director of external relations and content at UKREiiF, said: “We are delighted that Pagabo Group has returned as UKREiiF’s headline partner in 2025. By organising this event, it’s clear the team wants to take our shared principles – of facilitating the unlocking of regeneration across the country – beyond the three-day UKREiiF programme, which is something we fully support.
“The buzz around this inaugural gathering – particularly from local authority participants – is building. I hope many of the conversations that are set to take place feed into Pagabo Group’s programme at UKREiiF in May 2025 – we may even see some early success stories emerge.”
A regional report will be released after the West Midlands Investment Collab, which takes place on 27 November. Similar events will be hosted in other regions around the UK in the run up to UKREiiF itself, taking place in Leeds in May 2025.
For more information, please get in touch with the Pagabo team via info@pagabo.co.uk
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