Round Table on project structure and finance

Urban planning guru to chair project finance Round Table

11.30 on Tuesday 4 November

Professor Michael Parkinson CBE, the Director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs at Liverpool John Moores University and one of Europe’s leading experts in urban planning, will be chairing a special round table session which will cover project structure and finance.

The emphasis is on audience participation and the session – to take place at 11.30 on Tuesday 4 November – will open with brief presentations by the following experts:

• Chris Brown, Chief Executive of Igloo Regeneration, the property investment arm of Aviva
• Andy Burrell, Managing Director of the leading Scottish developer, The Burrell Company
• Jim Gill, Chief Executive of the regeneration agency, Liverpool Vision

This will be your opportunity to explore the current trends in waterfront and other urban regeneration projects, hear about the state of play when it comes to project finance and investment and the impact of the credit crunch, and discuss the role of public–private sector co-operation in the success of regeneration projects.

About the experts

Andrew Burrell, Chairman and Managing Director, The Burrell Company

Andrew studied architecture and planning at the Architectural Association in London and at the University of Edinburgh. He worked as a consultant in both the public and private sectors in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh prior to forming The Burrell Company, Scotland's first professionally recognised architect/developer company in 1980.

He is currently chairman and managing director of The Burrell Company and its associated companies and subsidiaries and is a director of several companies and serves as a trustee on a number of charitable trusts, including the chair of the Alba Conservation Trust, the Cockburn Conservation Trust, the building preservation trust for the Lothian and Borders of Scotland, and the Lighthouse, Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City.


Chris Brown, Chief Executive, Igloo Regeneration

Chris is chief executive of Igloo Regeneration and the development manager of the Igloo Regeneration Fund, a £300 million fund backed by Norwich Union and other major financial institutions and managed by Aviva Investments, the asset management arm of the insurance giant, Aviva. Igloo invests in the development of mixed use, environmentally sustainable, well designed, urban regeneration projects on the edge of the UK’s top twenty city centres.

Chris is a director of Isis Waterside Regeneration, a joint venture between Igloo, British Waterways and Muse that regenerates brownfield waterside sites around the UK; Blueprint, Igloo’s partnership with English Partnerships and the East Midlands Development Agency; and Creative Space, a leading provider of space for the creative and digital media industries.

His other roles include being a member of the Scottish Communities Minister’s Regeneration Sounding Board and a NESTA Mentor.


Jim Gill, OBE, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision

Between 1971 and 1990 Jim worked for the UK Government’s Department of Trade and Industry. In 1990 he joined Amec Plc where he was a Director of Amec Regeneration and then of Amec Developments, responsible for public-private partnerships with local authorities and public agencies.

In 1994 he moved to English Partnerships, the National Regeneration Agency for England, as Regional Director for the North West and in July 2001, he became Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision, the urban regeneration company responsible for overseeing the regeneration of Liverpool City Centre. In January 2008 he was appointed Chief Executive of the enhanced Liverpool Vision.

Jim was awarded an OBE for Services to Regeneration in 2006 and in 2008 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University.


Professor Michael Parkinson CBE, Director, European Institute for Urban Affairs, Liverpool John Moores University

Michael is Director of the European Institute for Urban Affairs at Liverpool John Moores University. He currently leads the Department of Communities and Local Government’s expert panel on Neighbourhoods, Cities and Regions. He was Director of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Programme CITIES: Cohesion and Competitiveness, a major five-year research programme involving 25 Universities.

He has acted as adviser on urban affairs to the European Commission, OECD, EUROCITIES, the Department of Communities and Local Government, the National Audit Office, the House of Commons Select Committees, the Core Cities and a range of cities in the UK. He lectures extensively nationally and internationally and is a regular contributor to the media. Michael was awarded a CBE for services to urban regeneration in 2007.