Date 12 May 2011
The sun was setting over the Mediterranean, the cocktail glasses were clinking, and the canapés were disappearing fast as my colleagues and I arrived at the MIPIM International Property Conference in March. 2011 was the fifth year in succession that SA Law has sent a team to the event which takes place in Cannes and is one of the largest annual gatherings of property professionals in Europe. This year it was the turn of Steve Ryan, David Linklater and myself to tear ourselves away from the office and reluctantly face the demands of a gruelling property conference. Although the event runs for a whole working week, for reasons of stamina and self preservation we limited ourselves to three days!
The number of delegates this year was in the region of twenty thousand, approximately half the number who attended when the property industry was booming. Nevertheless, Cannes was busy and there was no shortage of people to meet and chat to over a beer or three. Whilst the focal point of the conference is a main hall (known as “the bunker”) featuring leading speakers from the industry and attended by representatives from all corners of the globe, outside of this there are a myriad of networking opportunities that arise from the formal and informal events which are running simultaneously in the town. The highlight of the trip was the Savills Shedmasters Party held in a sumptuous hilltop villa overlooking Cannes and the Mediterranean but we combined this with formal appointments to see existing clients and contacts and informal drinks, meals, drinks, coffees, drinks etc with likeminded people.
We felt that the mood of the Conference this year was more positive than the past two years, especially with people looking for investment and development opportunities in London and the South East and most of the people we met or spoke to had the same view. Representatives from the banks were thin on the ground but they appear to have been partially replaced with private funds, particularly from the Middle East and Asia, looking for opportunities. Contacts of ours from the commercial landlord and tenant sector were confident that the UK has now weathered the economic storm, and possibly earlier than the rest of Europe. A London-based agent we met at the Shedmasters event who acts for a number of high net worth individuals felt that this is a stronger market than ever – high end properties keep increasing in value. Other agents commented that the mood in the market is much more optimistic after the recent downturn and an architect we met said that her business is booming.
All in all we enjoyed a successful conference, despite the damage to our livers, and are already booking our flights for next March when we look forward to meeting both old and new acquaintances.
If you would like more information or advice relating to a specific matter, please do not hesitate to contact John Moore on 01727 798074 or by email at john.moore@salaw.com.
© SA LAW 2011
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