march-2011

PROPERTY | NICE | MIPIM
most people in the industry are looking for
a serious way to move forward. Despite the
downturn, London has remained strong and
people are still keen to invest here, so we’re
looking forward to attending, especially as
this year the UK is the country of honour.”
➳ RON BAKKER PARTNER
PLP ARCHITECTURE UK
“Our fi rm has been attending MIPIM since
it started and we’ve seen it move from being
a purely European event to one that attracts
people from the US, Middle East and Asia.
This suits us very well as we have also grown
as a practice to cover a more global market.
“I’ve always found MIPIM a good place to
catch up with people I know in the industry
and now it’s also a good forum for meeting
new clients or partners. It has become the
key event for the international real-estate
industry to generate business development.
“It’s a great place for the exchange
of ideas, a showcase for what diff erent
companies are working on and who is
looking to invest. It gives us a chance to see
what else is happening, what’s new or where
the emerging regions are.”
➳ BEST OF BRITISH
This year the UK is MIPIM’s
country of honour, which
means there will be a series
of conferences and events
dedicated to exploring its
investment opportunities.
In addition to panel-led
discussions and meetings
on the UK real-estate
market, there will be
presentations from major
UK cities, private-sector
fi rms and government
development agencies.
100 | TRAVELLER | MARCH 11
➳ GOING GLOBAL
Dr Nouriel Roubini,
professor of economics at
New York’s Stern School of
Business, will address the
conference about the global
economic outlook and its
implication for the realestate
industry. Dr Roubini is
a highly regarded economist
and US government advisor,
who was one of the few
people to predict the
current economic crisis.
Don’t miss it.
➳ DENIS TERSEN CEO
PARIS REGION ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY FRANCE
“Our role is to generate investment from
overseas investors and enterprises in Paris
and its surrounding regions, so MIPIM is
hugely important to us as a way of reaching
a broad base of international businesses.
“We can provide information on all of
Paris’s regions, so we can help companies
identify the locations with the best realestate
options, transport links and
facilities for them.
“We’re aiming to promote Paris as
somewhere for sustainable building and
green technology. We’re also a region
that off ers a high level of creativity and
innovation, technological and scientifi c
research. Explaining all of this is easier
through face-to-face contact with people.
“Both the private and public sectors
have had a bad time over the past few years,
so we’re likely to see more partnerships
between the sectors now. It’s also useful
to show that government can play a part
in generating development, and that plans
need to be put in place for the long term.”
MIPIM HIGHLIGHTS
WORK THE ROOM AT ONE OF THESE TALKS OR EVENTS
➳ AND THE REST
Other highlights include
workshops about moving
into emerging markets,
country and industryspecifi
c presentations,
and the prestigious MIPIM
awards ceremony. One of the
projects everyone is buzzing
about is the new Venezia
Lifestyle Center (pictured
overleaf), an urban shopping
and offi ce centre just
outside Venice, which is
due to open in March 2012.
➳ MARKUS NEURAUTER MD
RAIFFEISEN EVOLUTION AUSTRIA
“As a commercial and residential developer
we work across 11 countries in Europe and
have been attending MIPIM since 2004.
We’re sending eight delegates this year, and
will be joining the Austrian stand. MIPIM is
a good chance to meet new contacts in the
real-estate industry and present projects for
investment opportunities.
“We have several projects in the pipeline
right now but SkyTower is probably the
most spectacular. This offi ce block is going
to be the tallest building in Bucharest and
is part of an urban development in the
northeast of the city. I think 2011 will be
the year when the markets, especially
in central and south Eastern Europe, will
start to grow again.”
➳ JOHN WRIGHT
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS
VACANT PROPERTY SPECIALISTS UK
“This is the fi rst year we’ve attended
MIPIM. We decided to take a stand this year
because we feel our business, which off ers
security solutions to vacant commercial
premises, is ready to expand – the downturn
has caused more retail and business units
to become empty and there’s potential for
growth. We have a presence in the US and
most areas of Europe but feel it would be
useful to show what we do to a wider global
audience. MIPIM is the ideal forum for that.
“MIPIM is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to
expand our portfolio, build relationships and
explain our business model to people who
don’t yet know about the services we can
off er. It also gives us the chance to see
what potential there is in new markets.
I think 2011 will see an increase in the need
for property-management services such as
ours in other countries.”
MIPIM runs from 8–11 March, mipim.com
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