UKREiiF hears how Derby is spearheading a ‘nuclear renaissance’

Investors at a major property event have been learning how Derby is at the forefront of a ‘nuclear renaissance’ – helping make it one of the hottest investment tickets in town.

At the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), which took place in Leeds last week, Team Derby staged a panel event called ‘The £9bn Derby Deal’.

A stellar line-up from both the public and private sector pulled in a crowd of UKREiiF delegates, all keen to hear how Rolls-Royce’s ongoing success in Derby was propelling investment opportunities elsewhere in the city.

Chaired by Marketing Derby’s managing director John Forkin, the panel featured representatives from Derby City Council, the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), Rolls-Royce, Indurent and AtkinsRéalis, who together took a deep dive into how the engineering giant’s mega £9 billion Ministry of Defence nuclear submarines contract, known as ‘Unity’, was benefitting the city.

Rich Whelband, head of marketing and communications at Rolls-Royce Submarines, who was on the panel, said: “For 60 years, Rolls-Royce has been powering nuclear submarines – we are absolutely locked into what the Royal Navy is doing to protect the UK.

“As part of our commitment to the Royal Navy, and bolstered by the £9 billion Unity deal, we are doubling the size of operations at Raynesway. We want to make Derby a nuclear skills hub – it’s a nuclear renaissance.

“We are incredibly proud that we’ve called Derby home for over 100 years; we are committed to investing in and bringing prosperity to the city.”

UKREiiF aims to connect people, places and businesses to drive sustainable, inclusive and transformative investment and regeneration.

It brings together the public sector – with every core UK city and region involved – alongside government, investors, funders, developers, housebuilders and more.

More than 15,000 people attended last week’s three-day event, including Team Derby, which is made up of members of Derby City Council’s leadership, along with Marketing Derby’s inward investment team and Bondholders.

They were there to highlight investment opportunities and pipeline projects, building upon the high levels of investor interest created at MIPIM in Cannes in March.

The Derby panel event, which took place on the SCAPE Public Sector Stage, looked at how the huge investment being made by Rolls-Royce in the city is opening up new opportunities and enhancing the city’s overall investment prospects.

The engineering giant’s Unity contract stretches for eight years and will result in hundreds of new jobs at Rolls-Royce Submarines’ Raynesway site, which designs, builds and maintains all of the nuclear reactors that power the Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines.

As a result of Unity, Rolls-Royce is investing heavily in its Raynesway site, doubling its size.

Globally renowned engineering and development consultancy AtkinsRéalis, which backed Derby’s programme of activities at this year’s UKREiiF, has been appointed by Rolls-Royce, along with Mott MacDonald, as its fissile design partners for this expansion.

AtkinsRéalis employs 35,000 people globally, working on complex projects and programmes.

Terry Stocks MBE, director of property (UK and Ireland) in the project and programme services division at AtkinsRéalis, who was on the Derby panel, outlined some of the infrastructure projects the firm is working on globally.

Speaking about the joint venture signed with Mott MacDonald at Raynesway, he said: “We are creating the building infrastructure for the Rolls-Royce nuclear site expansion in Derby.

“That will increase our local direct employment, and we want to increase our ties with universities in the region and other employers to help on some of the larger projects coming through EMCCA to help deliver its ambitions.”

The UKREiiF audience learned how Rolls-Royce’s investments were already having a positive impact on the rest of Derby – catalysing a range of investable opportunities across asset classes, including industrial/logistics, office and residential, with several infrastructure projects already underway to support developments in the nuclear sector.

For example, Rolls-Royce’s expansion has resulted in the firm opening a new state-of-the-art warehouse facility at Indurent Park Derby to support its manufacturing operations.

Indurent Park Derby is a new 50-acre industrial hub for high-tech R&D and manufacturing and logistics, being created by Indurent on land adjacent to Pride Park and Wyvern Retail Park.

Up until last year, Indurent was known as St. Modwen – a company which was acquired by US-based Blackstone in 2021.

Rob Richardson, development director at Indurent, told the panel: “The first paper we took to them (Blackstone) was for the Derby site as a six-phased scheme over six years.

“We’re now on the final phase having invested a total of £120 million and attracted a great mix of names including Vaillant, Kia, Getinge and Rolls-Royce – with Marketing Derby and Derby City Council playing a part in those.”

Also on the panel was East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, the figurehead of EMCCA, and Councillor Nadine Peatfield, leader of Derby City Council and East Midlands Deputy Mayor.

Nadine spoke about Derby’s “work, live, visit” strategy, while Claire reflected on her first year as mayor, speaking about how the East Midlands devolution deal will benefit the region now and in the future.

She said: “Over the next six months, the Inclusive Growth Commission led by Andy Haldane of the RSA, will help shape where we want to invest – we want longstanding change for the people in our region.”

She also spoke about the East Midlands Investment Zone, which includes Infinity Park Derby.

She said: “We’re really focused on advanced manufacturing and green industries – and what better place than Infinity Park Derby to invest in those sectors and encourage additional investment from businesses for skills and job creation.”

As well as learning about Derby’s burgeoning credentials in nuclear, UKREiiF delegates also found out how the city centre is fast emerging as a key location for offices and occupiers, with the launch of the City Centre Office Prospectus – a brand-new publication, showcasing the numerous office opportunities in the centre of Derby.

The prospectus, which first broke cover at MIPIM, sets out all the existing and planned office developments in the city centre in a bid to attract businesses back to the heart of Derby.

The launch took place inside EMCCA’s East Midlands Pavilion, which was also the setting for a session focusing on investment opportunities and potential of the Derby – Nottingham corridor, part of EMCCA’s new spatial plan known as the Trent Arc.

The session, led by Mayor Claire included contributions from Nadine, David Williams, chairman of Geldards and EMCCA’s business advisory board, and Professor Warren Manning, provost for innovation and research at the University of Derby.

Mayor Claire said: “The Trent Arc is a unique proposition anchored by our two great cities; work with us to shape what happens next to help make the vision a reality.”

When asked what will deliver the Trent Arc ambition in 10 years’ time, Nadine said: “Being brave, ambitious and collaborative – we’ve shown we can do that already but now under EMCCA we can unlock the potential.”

David said: “Trent Arc is incredibly exciting from an economic perspective.

“We won’t get there by doing the same old same old – we will have to do some things which really stand out.”

Warren concluded: “We need Derby and Nottingham to be successful as vibrant cities to retain skilled people and attract inward investment which benefits the wider region.”

To read a digital copy of the City Centre Office Prospectus visit https://heyzine.com/flip-book/d2a457d340.html.