Private sector involvement through partnership, PFI or other mechanisms is
a critical component of the urban regeneration process. To date there has b
een little research into the perceptions of the private sector, reasons for
involvement in urban regeneration and relationships between private and pu
blic sector actors. This paper is based on focus group discussions with act
ors involved in the regeneration process. Interpretation, which is from a q
ualitative perspective, investigates four main themes namely the rationale
for private sector investment in urban regeneration; policy mechanisms to l
ever private sector investment; the financing of urban regeneration; and th
e alleviation of risk. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.