Briggsy’s MIPIM Property Blog
SO, the sun is out and MIPIM is in full swing.
Vast swathes of suited men (with this year’s must have accessory of fashionable neck tie) wander around the exhibition hall, Cannes’ Croisette and frequent the bars and restaurants in the area.
The number of delegates seems strong but, as in recent years, much of the daily activity is centred around the vast exhibition hall rather than on yachts and in villas.
The Leeds City Region stand is smart and has had plenty of visitors.
Other notable attendees from this region include Doncaster-based social housing group Keepmoat, property group 4Urban, from which Paul Lancaster is attending, commercial property finance expert Russell Jowett, property entrepreneur Martin Joyce and King Sturge’s Mark Barnes, who lives in Doncaster but heads up the company’s retail investment team in Central Europe.
Manchester has yet again gone big, with the city taking a sizeable presence at the front of the exhibition hall, as well as taking over a town centre bar and apartmentfor the week. With dozens of private sector organisations supporting MIPIM, the North West city can afford to go big.
It certainly seems a MIPIM dominated by locations looking for investment rather than companies parading themselves. Let’s hope for all parties, their presence pays off.
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IT’S interesting, while wandering around the exhibition hall at MIPIM, to take in some of the stands that have been put together for the three day event.
Those locations with major events – such as the World Cup in 2018 and the Euro football championships in Poland and Ukraine in two years time – have gone to town, taking up vast swathes of the not small exhibition centre and kitting out their areas with scale models of projects and all manner of advertising material.
Names such as Krasnodar in Russia, a location not well known by this corresspondent, have taken centre stage as they try to take advantage of the investment riches on offer.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, those with the highest ratio of female staff (and those with the foresight to install bars with a local beer on tap) appear to have the highest number of visitors.
Funny that….
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LEEDS City Region held a successful drinks event on its stand yesterday afternoon, with more than 100 delegates turning up to enjoy a drink, chat and hear what this region has to offer.
Faces old and new were in attendance and the informal get together was deemed a success.
A dinner last night organised by the party, and attended by 30 property investors and senior professionals, at which Leeds LEP chairman Neil McLean addressed the audience, has also had positive feedback.
Earlier in the day London Mayor Boris Johnson had visited the stand with none other than the Prime Minister of Rwanda.
It wasn’t quite clear how or why the alliance had been formed but rumours that Leeds is now trying to twin with the African country following the visit are yet to be confirmed….
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Meanwhile, as the property fraternity continues to do MIPIM proper in the South of France, those members of the regional community left behind are marking the event back home.
Around 300 of Yorkshire’s property professionals will come together for the annual ‘Alternative MIPIM’ drinks event at La Grillade in Leeds.
It is the fifth year the event has been held in Leeds and organisers tell me there has been unprecedented demand for tickets, with all 300 selling out within three weeks of going on sale.
This year’s sponsors of the event are King Sturge, Santander, Walker Morris and Muse Developments.
Colin Fell, partner in charge of the event at King Sturge, said: “This event is now in its fifth year and shows, with the strong take-up, how committed the business fraternity in Yorkshire is to doing business in Yorkshire.”
As in previous years, the sponsors will be aiming to raise money for charity and this year the beneficiary will be Leeds Children’s Charity.
A similar event is happening in Sheffield and rumours abound that those who can’t make the Leeds event are to attend their own ‘Alternative Alternative MIPIm’ event at a city centre drinking spot.
