Birmingham Forward celebrates the city's presence in the capital

Birmingham Forward, the professional, financial and business services organisation, which has been a key player in making Birmingham's London office a reality, is warmly welcoming its opening. In his inaugural speech as chair at Birmingham Forward's AGM, Derek Inman said one of the two key themes for his year in office is a determination to make sure Birmingham truly punches its weight. Derek explained: "Birmingham needs to be seen as the economic and social centre it really is. The London office is crucial to achieving this. "At Birmingham Forward we plan to use it as a base for a series of briefings with key politicians, individuals in business and the London-based business media. We hope to then entice them up the M40 or the West Coast Mainline so they can experience what we have to offer and be converted to the benefits of Birmingham. "The regeneration of our infrastructure has made Birmingham a great place to live. Brindleyplace, Mailbox, Bullring, Colmore Circus and Millennium Point are all physical incarnations of the renaissance we have experienced. "But while many now accept ours is a great city to visit, few truly acknowledge our rightful commercial position. Birmingham has the strongest professional services sector outside London which means we are easily able to compete with and beat most major European cities. But instead of seeing this, many of our country's key decision makers still perceive Birmingham as an old manufacturing town that is slowly dying. The advent of the London office is our chance to change their minds and really begin to punch our weight." Neil Frankland, associate at Mills & Reeve and chairman of Birmingham Future, continued: "We have a vibrant professional services community because we have continually provided the combination of a great career and an exciting environment in which to live. "Birmingham has undergone a renaissance in recent years. Our shopping facilities are now superb, catering for every taste and there is a real drive to provide affordable city living apartments. The social scene is also dynamic. The universally acknowledged excellence of the CBSO, the reinvigoration of the Hippodrome, the variety offered by the Rep and the bars and clubs of Broad Street, the Arcadian, the Custard Factory and Colmore Row mean there is plenty for everyone. "This social variety and affordability, particularly in comparison to London, makes it easy to see why people are opting to come here. But we cannot be complacent. "The surveys we have undertaken at the biannual Graduate Fair have consistently shown that Midlands graduates are sold on the idea of a career based in Birmingham. "But our sector is greedy - we are growing quickly and have a constant demand for good graduates. So we have to appeal to those from universities elsewhere in the country. "Making your first job London-based is a common trait, so too often the capital gets the pick of the crop. The London office will give us a base from which we can begin to reverse this trend. "Furthermore, by promoting the city and the calibre of the work we do here - you only have to look at the submissions for Deal of the Year 2004 to see what I mean - we will also be able to persuade those who have only just begun their career to relocate to the Midlands."

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