Sir Sadiq Khan in Cannes to 'bang drum for London'

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan is in Cannes, France, trying to attract big investors to spend their money in the capital.

He is leading a team from City Hall at Europe's biggest property conference - MIPIM - the first time in his nine years as mayor that he has attended.

The mayor is looking for an investment of £22bn in 20 key projects, including at Liverpool Street, Waterloo, Euston and Victoria stations.

Several London boroughs are also seeking money during the trip. Barnet Council wants investors to help in its Brent Cross Town project, and there are also bids from Islington, Waltham Forest and Lambeth councils.

Previous mayors Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson have both attended MIPIM, which puts international developers and investors in the same town as those wanting to raise money.

The conference website said the event was designed for investors to "access global capital" and for those attending to "discover solutions to make assets more sustainable in a changing world".

Speaking to BBC London, Sir Sadiq said: "One of the ways to stimulate growth in our economy is more foreign direct investment.

"That will help build more homes, help invest in public transport, and help invest in infrastructure."

"I don't apologise for banging the drum for London at the MIPIM conference."

The mayor will be joined in Cannes by his deputy mayor for business, Howard Dawber, his deputy mayor for housing, Tom Copley, and deputy mayor for planning and regeneration, Jules Pipe.

Under the banner of "Opportunity London", there will also be representatives from London boroughs, Transport for London and Network Rail in attendance.

The so-called "London Investment Prospectus" also details plans for thousands of new affordable homes that could be built if the money could be raised.

Sir Sadiq will speak at a session on affordable housing on Monday and then open the London stand the following day.

It comes after shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake accused Sir Sadiq of overseeing a "catastrophic" rate of progress on the rate of affordable home building.

One property industry expert, who preferred not to be named, told the BBC: "It is good to see the mayor engaging with the industry by going to MIPIM for the first time.

"He has not always had the easiest relationship with developers."

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