The pitch Cornwall took to the Houses of Parliament this week

Four men stood at the Carriage Gates of the Houses of Parliament this week holding up a black and white flag, Big Ben rising behind them. The photograph was the easy part. What happened inside the building beforehand was the point of the trip.

A rare invitation

Cornwall was showcased to potential investors at a prestigious event held at the Houses of Parliament this week. Hosted by the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), the event brought together investors and developers to explore Cornwall’s ambitions, investment opportunities and plans for future growth.

It reflects the ambition set out in Cornwall’s International Strategy, to position the region as a confident, internationally connected Celtic nation and use stronger external relationships to attract investment, support economic growth and create opportunities for businesses and communities.

The region was chosen for the event following Cornwall Council‘s work championing Cornwall with UKREiiF, which describes itself as the UK’s leading national forum for real estate, investment and infrastructure.

‘Investment is built on relationships and trust’

Councillor Leigh Frost, Leader of Cornwall Council, said the event was part of a longer game.

“This is exactly why it is important for Cornwall to be out there making its case. Investment is built on relationships and trust, and those relationships don’t happen overnight,” he said.

“Our presence at UKREiiF has enabled us to put Cornwall in front of some of the most influential people in the investment and development world and, importantly, to keep building those relationships year after year.

“For UKREiiF to now select Cornwall as one of only a handful of places to receive this level of direct support is a real vote of confidence in what we have to offer. It gives us an exceptional opportunity to tell Cornwall’s story directly to people who have the ability to help us turn our ambitions into reality.”

Next stop, Cornwall itself

UKREiiF is set to visit Cornwall in November, bringing investor and developer contacts to the region to see key sites and opportunities first hand and meet the people and organisations behind them.

The approach is designed to create a clear route from raising Cornwall’s profile nationally to bringing potential investment partners into the region to understand the opportunities for themselves.

‘We have the ingredients, but we need the infrastructure’

Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth, sponsored Cornwall’s showcase at the Houses of Parliament. She said Cornwall has much of what a successful economy needs, but not yet all of it.

“Cornwall has so much of what we need to build a successful economy for the future. We have emerging industries with enormous potential, exceptional natural assets, talented people and businesses with the ambition to grow. What we need is the investment in infrastructure and connectivity that enables those opportunities to be fully realised,” she said.

“That was a message that came through strongly during Andy Burnham’s recent visit to Cornwall. We have the ingredients here, but we need to make sure Cornwall has the infrastructure, investment and connections that allow our industries to compete, grow and create good jobs.

“That is why opportunities like this matter. By taking Cornwall’s proposition directly to investors, developers and decision makers, both through UKREiiF and at the Houses of Parliament, we can build the relationships that help turn our potential into investment. I am delighted to be sponsoring the Cornwall showcase in Parliament and helping to make sure Cornwall’s ambitions are heard nationally.”

What UKREiiF gets out of it

Nathan Spencer, Managing Director of UKREiiF, framed the showcase as a matter of connecting people who could otherwise take years to find each other.

“Cornwall has always been one of my favourite places, and through UKREiiF I’ve also had the opportunity to understand much more about its ambition and the scale of the opportunities there,” he said.

“One of the things UKREiiF does best is bring people together. Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is use the relationships and networks we’ve built to connect great places with the people who can help them realise their potential.

“In the spirit of the Global Cornish initiative and its ambition to harness networks for the benefit of Cornwall, we wanted to do exactly that. Cornwall has a strong story to tell and some genuinely exciting opportunities. We’re looking forward to bringing some of our investor and developer network together to hear that story, and then taking the next step by bringing them to Cornwall to see those opportunities for themselves.”

A website doing some of the talking

A key part of Cornwall’s International Strategy is Cornwall.uk, a new international-facing website launched this summer to showcase Cornwall’s investment proposition to audiences across the UK and around the world. It will be used alongside direct engagement with investors and partners, helping turn Cornwall’s growing international profile into practical opportunities for investment and collaboration.

Cornwall has been part of UKREiiF since its early years, using the national platform each time to showcase its development pipeline, emerging industries and ambitions for economic growth. November’s visit will be the first chance to see whether a room in Westminster can actually translate into diggers on Cornish ground.