Business Improvement Districts – Revenue Analysis and Regeneration Investment Potential

The current economic downturn has seen many UK town and city centres suffer from funding cuts to public services and a lack of investment. To counter the effects of reduced consumer spending the Business Improvement District (BID) model continues to gain in popularity with many areas seeking to benefit from the additional funding opportunities and the perceived success of this model. This support is further evidenced by recent Government policy decisions including funding being set aside to help finance the start-up of additional BIDs within the UK in response to recommendations contained in the Portas Review on the Future of the High Street. This paper evaluates the success of BIDs by presenting findings from a survey of UK and Ireland BIDs to analyse the revenue and funding streams used by BIDs and how these are contributing to wider regeneration objectives. In particular evidence is presented on the increased multiplier effect that is evident with BID age and maturity. The paper also demonstrates the efficiency of the BID model in generating diverse sources of additional revenue and providing a value added contribution to service delivery in town and city centres. Furthermore, the contingent valuation principles of ‘Willingness to Pay’ and ‘Willingness to Accept’ are presented as a means of evaluating the wider acceptance and success of the BID model within the BID community. Conclusions are drawn on the role and success of BIDs and their significance for real estate.