Well, here we go again! The fields of France are flashing past my window, quenched, thankfully, in the glorious sunshine of early Spring. It's that time of year when, along with several thousand others, and following a minor but very productive train odyssey from Manchester, I'll be hitting La Croisette to rub shoulders with the great and the good of the international property market.
I always head down to MIPIM with conflicting expectations. On one hand, the event is a laughable prospect, and not only for the sight of the world's largest walking collection of Chinos. You see things here that seem to have no resonance in the real world: a hundred places you've never heard of pitching the most fantastical development schemes; professional services marketing gimmicks by the luxury yacht-load; and ridiculous sums exchanged, with not even the faintest glimmer of irony, for probably the most average lager in the world. In many ways, MIPIM is a microcosm of so much that is wrong with our world.
But that is only half the story. MIPIM also holds the promise of break-through dialogue, some serious professional content, and the chance to meet well-established and new contacts in surroundings conducive to candid conversation. As the cliché goes, you get more decent face-time with clients and partners during three-four days in Cannes than you would in six months back home and travelling around Europe.
This year, I have to say, my expectations for MIPIM are high. I've worked hard on my diary and am looking forward to catching up and sharing insights with a host of top-drawer clients and contacts. I'm also fitting in a modest number of events, all of which should be excellent in terms of networking and content. If everything goes to plan, it promises to be a week full of highlights. I'm expecting the mood to be positively up-beat but I also expect, as in recent years, people to be pretty focused on getting business done.
Deloitte Real Estate will again have its stand in the London Pavilion, stand Sun01, and a top team from across all our service lines will be in attendance. Our theme this year, "where business meets real estate", captures our unique position in the market place through which we combine our renowned property expertise with world-class accounting and business advisory services. This provides the perfect umbrella (hopefully we won't be needing any of those this year!) for my core focus, given that sustainability and responsible property investment touch all aspects of real estate business (if you're wondering how, then *insert shameless plug* give me a call).
Amongst the calendar, we've got a couple of stand-out things happening this week. We're launching the New London Development Website - the single best online resource for viewing all major developments in the capital, and building on the success of the New London Development App, which has received over 4,000 downloads in 40 countries and was recently listed as the 'Best New App' in the iTunes store. If you're in town, pop down to the stand if you want to check it out with us.
As part of our continued commitment to our partners in the UK regions, we're also sponsoring a joint breakfast event with Sir Howard Bernstein and Joe Anderson, CEO of Manchester City Council and Mayor of Liverpool respectively. The event focuses on the investment potential of the combined city regions and marks a new and important era of positive collaboration between Liverpool and Manchester in the lead-up to the International Festival of Business later this year.
Throughout this week, I'll be providing a glimpse, through my eyes, of what's hot and what's not at MIPIM. If you're looking to be kept abreast of deal focused news and whatever headlines Boris generates this year, then I suggest you stick to the trade press. If you want something a little more personal and reflective, then check back in here tomorrow and each day this week.
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