05/03/2014

Council Seeks Offers For NEC Group

Birmingham City Council is seeking offers for the NEC Group.

Principal objectives of the proposed sale are to secure an investor who shares the vision and strategic ambitions of the NEC Group and to maximise the proceeds for Birmingham City Council. Bringing the NEC Group under private ownership will enable the business to take full advantage of its growth opportunities and reach the next stage of its development.

The NEC Group is a vitally important contributor to the West Midlands economy, delivering an economic impact of over £2 billion pa. and supporting some 29,000 FTE jobs in the region. Securing and enhancing this economic impact is a key objective for Birmingham City Council.

A strong NEC Group attracts further economic activity to the region. This has been evidenced strongly through securing the £140 million plus investment into Resorts World Birmingham by Genting UK. The NEC Group’s position would be strengthened through private sector ownership, and this should act as a catalyst for further investment in the region.

The City Council will invite potentially interested buyers to participate in a pre-qualification process while sale preparations are finalised.

In structuring a transaction, the City Council intends to ensure that the existing uses of the exhibition centre, International Convention Centre and two arenas (LG Arena and National Indoor Arena) are preserved. This will secure the profile of Birmingham and the broader West Midlands as a world-class home of a broad array of live events.

The City Council also intends to retain claw-back rights over certain land at the main NEC site, so ensuring that it preserves potential future development value from a highly attractive site that will be adjacent to the Birmingham Interchange HS2 station.

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, commented: "A key purpose of the City Council investing in establishing the NEC Group more than 30 years ago was to drive economic development and regeneration.

"This has been achieved, but now the NEC Group has reached a point in its evolution where it needs to be able to adopt the financial disciplines of a private, rather than a council-owned company to enable the next stage of strategic development. In doing so, economic impact and job creation can be preserved and enhanced.

"An open sale process has been identified through an extensive strategic review process as the way to achieve full value for this internationally-renowned asset, whilst achieving the other principal objectives of enabling the Group to achieve its potential and growing economic impact."

(CD)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

07 July 2008
Downs Clearance Delayed By Gay Men
Clearance work on dense undergrowth in the Downs area of Bristol has been delayed - by campaiging homosexual men who want to continue to use the area for sexual encounters. Campaigners claim that gay and bisexual men in Bristol are in fact being "discriminated against" because of plans to remove the dense undergrowth - which they use for sex.
14 May 2010
George Awarded Damages Over 'Obsession'
The man cleared of murdering TV presenter Jill Dando after spending seven years in jail has won damages over newspaper claims. Barry George brought the case over claims that he was obsessed with singer Cheryl Cole and newsreader Kay Burley. The claims were made in the Sunday Mirror, the People and on the Daily Mirror website in 2008.
22 March 2006
NEC chair attacks Clarke over loans criticism
The Labour Party's loans woes have taken several twists since treasurer Jack Dromey declared he had no knowledge of millions of pounds worth of loans made to the party last week. National Executive Council chair Sir Jeremy Beecham has attacked Home Secretary Charles Clarke who had criticised Mr Dromey in his capacity as party treasurer.
10 December 2007
Rihanna Cancels Three UK Concerts
R&B singer Rihanna has been forced to pull out of three UK shows. The 19-year-old Barbados-born singer had been due to play at the NEC Arena in Birmingham tonight, but was forced to cancel the gig on doctor's orders. A planned concert in Bournemouth on Tuesday has also been cancelled, while a concert in Nottingham on Saturday was also called off.
28 January 2009
Solihull Drives Change With £11m Transport Scheme
An £11m scheme to improve public transport between Solihull, Birmingham International Airport (BIA) and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) was announced today by Transport Minister Paul Clark. The scheme includes enhanced bus services and improved facilities for passengers to reduce journey times and cut congestion in the area.