A major push to promote the Northern Powerhouse at one of the world’s largest property exhibitions will now have to wait until next year after organisers pulled the plug due to the coronavirus pandemic.

MIPIM, which bills itself as the world's leading property market, was originally due to take place in March but pushed back the event until June 2 due to fears over the spread of coronavirus.

But as the crisis continues to escalate, its organisers have confirmed it has been rescheduled until March 16-19, 2021.

MIPIM director Ronan Vaspart, from organisers Reed MIDEM, said: “We appreciate the support and feedback we received from many MIPIM customers and are grateful for their patience and understanding.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Cannes in March 2021 and, in the meantime, we hope people stay connected and, above all, safe.”

The NP11 group of local enterprise partnerships from across the North of England – including Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnerships – had joined forces with the UK Government to become an official partner of MIPIM 2020.

They were to stage a series of Northern Powerhouse themed events to give potential investors and developers an insight into major infrastructure projects taking place – including HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail – and plans to develop the region’s culture, heritage, skills and talent.

The chair of NP11, Roger Marsh, said it hoped to “build on long-term partnerships and attract further foreign direct and capital investment into many of the North’s world-class projects”.

MIPIM 2020 exhibitors and visitors can chose to have their 2020 fees carried over to MIPIM 2021 or reimbursed. They are to be contacted by members of the MIPIM team “as soon as possible”, the company said.

The organisers also confirmed they are pushing ahead with a two-day, Paris-based gathering of real estate and innovative technology leaders in September, along with a new online experience, MIPIM Connect, which is available year-round.