Investors tell Embassy why they are backing Derby and Derbyshire

Key investors have shared the reasons why they are backing Derby and Derbyshire at Marketing Derby’s latest London Embassy event.

Held earlier this month in the historic surroundings of Lancaster House, 200 guests, including Bondholders, investors, ambassadors and politicians from both the Houses of Lords and Commons, came together to hear about the latest investments in the city and county.

They heard from keynote speakers, including Jackie Wild, from SmartParc, the firm behind a high-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus on the outskirts of Derby, and Henrik-Juhl Hansen from Vaillant UK, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of environmentally friendly heating and air-conditioning technology, which has its head office at Belper.

John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, said: “This year’s embassy really did exceed expectations.

“The 200 attendees from our Bondholder, ambassador and investor communities really made the best of one of London’s most stunning buildings and the speeches were a brilliant showcase of what makes Derby and Derbyshire such a dynamic location.

“As important as it is to celebrate it’s worth noting that – as with all of our embassies – some real business was being done under the radar which will lead to new jobs and investment.”

Over the past decade, the London Embassy has helped Marketing Derby attract 5,000 new jobs to the area, as well as £500 million of investment.

Among the ‘live’ investments is SmartParc SEGRO Derby – a £300 million scheme, which aims to pave the way for collaboration in the food industry to meet the challenges of sustainable production while addressing the need for efficient direct routes to consumers.

Being created on the former British Celanese site at Spondon, the SmartParc SEGRO campus aims to combine world-class food production facilities with shared utilities, amenities and services to provide a sustainable, low-cost production base for food manufacturers.

It will provide 5,000 new jobs in the area over the coming years -with HelloFresh already on site, creating 400 new positions.

In her address, Jackie Wild, chief executive and founder of SmartParc and TSL Ltd, highlighted the company’s rapid Derby investment journey, and support received from Derby City Council from concept to the creation of the campus and attraction of Hello Fresh within a year.

She also highlighted why SmartParc was needed now more than ever, in light of rising energy costs and potential future food shortages across the globe.

She said: “What Smartparc is all about is reimagining how we produce food and how we help solve the food crisis.

“Derby will be at the centre of the food revolution. It will be the place that is remembered as where the food revolution began.”

The embassy also heard from Henrik-Juhl Hansen, managing director of Vaillant UK, part of the Vaillant Group, which has a presence in over 20 countries with national sales companies, and exports to more than 60 states.

A family-owned company with a £3 billion turnover, it has a heritage of more than 141 years in providing customers with energy-saving solutions for heating, cooling and hot water.

In his speech, he outlined his company’s long-standing commitment to Derbyshire and its current investment in the transition to green tech as it looks to help the world meet its energy challenges.

He said: “Only through true collaboration will we meet the UK and world’s green targets.

“We have brilliant relationships with Derbyshire and Marketing Derby.”

A film of the event can be viewed here