Wasps will be leading Coventry and Warwickshire into Europe on two fronts this spring.
The Aviva Premiership outfit, who have secured a European Champions Cup home quarter-final at the Ricoh Arena in April, have been announced as a key partner with the city and county at the world’s leading commercial property show in March.
Wasps will send two players and a senior board member to the four-day MIPIM conference in France which attracts more than 21,000 leading figures in commercial property development and investment.
The Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership is made up of leading companies and organisations which fund the area’s presence at the show.
Key development and investment opportunities are highlighted through a major stand at the event and also through a series of key events.
Centre Andrea Masi, who has been capped 95 times by Italy and is a former Six Nations Player of the Year, is planning to attend the show as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
Masi, who spent time with Biarritz, is considering a career in property when he retires from the game.
Nick Eastwood, Deputy Chairman of Wasps, said: “We have a very strong story to tell in how a business can move to Coventry and Warwickshire to help grow and secure its future.
“We have had quite outstanding support from the local authority and every other organisation we have come into contact with.
“We have found Coventry and Warwickshire to be a progressive and ambitious place in which to do business and we are only too happy to relay that message very powerfully to anyone looking to invest in the UK.
“Andrea will be a superb ambassador for Wasps and for the Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership.”
Les Ratcliffe, of Jaguar Land Rover and the Coventry and Warwickshire Place Board, said Wasps’ involvement worked on two levels.
He said: “Andrea is a major figure in world rugby and will be a big draw for the MIPIM audience, but also Wasps have a very powerful story in tell in terms of the support they have had since buying the Ricoh Arena and moving to the area.
“They have embedded themselves very well into the business community on all levels, and have, by their own admission, had massive support from all areas of Coventry and Warwickshire.
“This area has a great deal to offer investors – a great location, two superb universities and some global cutting edge companies – and we are delighted that Wasps will help tell that story.
“Hopefully a month later they will have another successful foray into Europe when they play Exeter in their quarter-final clash at the Ricoh Arena.”
The Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership is made up of private sector companies and organisations who fund the area’s presence at the event.
The partners are Friargate, Jaguar Land Rover, The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Barberry, Study Inn, CEG, The Coventry and Warwickshire Development Partnership, HOIRBA-MIRA, Coventry University, University of Warwick, City Fibre, Wasps, Deeley, Downing, Complex Development Projects.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Andrea Masi, Les Ratcliffe and Chris Bell (Wasps)
