MIPIM 2023 was a great success. In addition to gaining insights into the latest trends and developments across the industry, it was excellent to catch up with so many contacts and create new ones, in a relaxed environment that was so conducive to business.
MIPIM by the official numbers:
• Around 15% higher attendance than last year
• Four-day conference
• 23,000 registered delegates.
However, there were thousands more real estate professionals and experts choosing to meet in the cafés, bars, hotels, and restaurants along this small stretch of the Mediterranean.
Despite the reported numbers and the crowds inside “the bunker”, from the Remit Consulting perspective, there seemed to be fewer people inside the event than in the pre-pandemic years. This could be attributed to the increased price of attendance, but could equally be due to the more relaxed approach and familiarity with café culture these days. Our Dutch team reported that it was clear there were fewer representatives from the Netherlands than in years gone by. Interestingly, though, there was a noticeable increase in delegates and businesses from beyond Europe, particularly from the Middle East and North America. It also seemed that there were more “decision-makers” in attendance than historically. Even so, MIPIM retained a strong European focus.
There was much talk about consolidation amongst the many asset and fund managers with suggestions that smaller firms, with limited portfolios or those that focus on one asset class, will struggle to deliver acceptable returns. The consensus is that these mandates will be picked up by the larger asset (and property) managers, and there was chatter of investment funds increasingly looking to rationalise and improve on a pan-European basis.
What was the mood of the market?
With the sunshine, the fine wines and the good food, the mood in Cannes was, on the surface, one of optimism.
However, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank (and the worries about a possible international banking crisis), and the fear of a prolonged downturn, there was an underlying sense that times are tough and likely to get tougher.
The difficult market conditions were reflected by the scarcity of deals and transactions being announced, with the majority of press releases and news stories being issued by the brokers, focusing on specific bright spots and optimism rather than being more expansive.
The low levels of transaction activity inevitably led to cash-rich investors and their advisors circling at MIPIM and making it known they would be happy to hear about any highly leveraged properties and portfolios across Europe that might become available at ‘competitive’ prices.
Click here to watch Andrew and Lorna being interviewed at MIPIM by Costar News editor, Paul Norman.
The prevailing market conditions were also reflected in a sense of seriousness amongst attendees and a sense of determination to make the best use of time at the event. Yes, for many delegates it was their first MIPIM in four or five years, so there were myriad contacts to catch up with, but we had many meaningful meetings and discussions that were no longer than 30 minutes. Short, sharp meetings were definitely the order of the day.
The brevity of meetings might also explain the rumours that some of the big investment funds have chosen not to have yachts as their bases for entertaining and meetings at MIPIM in 2024. Experience teaches us that, physically, getting onto and off some of the boats can be a slow process, which is not conducive to short meetings.
Despite the apparent lack of market activity (or because of it?), there was a positive attitude towards, and increased awareness of, business transformation and the need to adapt to changes in the market and a realisation from many attendees that now is a time to reflect and invest in an improvement to systems and the use of data.
What were the hot topics?
We haven’t created a word cloud based on everything written about MIPIM, but if we did, it is easy to imagine that “ESG” and associated words, would be dominant as it was the topic that seemed to be part of most conversations over the four days, even if it was not always clear what the implications of ESG are for investors and asset/property managers.
This was not surprising for an event which began with a keynote speech by Jeremy Rifkin, the American economic and social theorist, who outlined a vision for a sustainable future for the planet with the real estate industry leading the way. To reflect this, MIPIM even had its own “Road to Zero” zone within the Palais des Festivals. Disappointingly, it was situated on the lower ground floor (which has no windows or natural light), and except for the seminar area, the Zone was almost deserted on the occasions we visited. Perhaps the sunny weather led attendees to prioritise other conference areas.
Data was also a major focus at the conference, with Avison Young and CoStar both emphasising its importance. A demonstration of Loopnet (which was relaunched by Costar in November) revealed how it provides data-driven predictive insights into the property decision-making process of occupiers. Clever stuff.
Elsewhere in the exhibition, MRI was promoting its Springboard offering. While being well known for its work on footfall in the retail sector, the platform is looking to move into the wider built environment and other workplace situations.
A further interesting development was the number of firms at MIPIM who were sharing ideas on monetising property/building data outside the property industry.
There were many new customer/tenant portals appearing on the scene from all over Europe. This raises the question; how many are needed and is the market now saturated? Equiem, one of the most established in the market, has now dropped its on-site resourcing model and is focusing on its robust software, which is popular and widely used in Australia, Europe, and the UK. Talking of technology, along with videos of major developments in the desert, we were drawn to the Saudi Arabian pavilion at MIPIM showcasing a rather creepy female robot called Sarah who reacted to your voice with all the warmth of a cyborg in a dystopian sci-fi film. It was, nonetheless, an interesting addition to the conference and showed that the industry is always looking for new and innovative ways to approach real estate development.
“Sarah” the robot.
Will we be back in 2024? Of course. Where else are you going to run into so many major investors, property developers, asset managers, brokers, property managers and technology providers in such a short period of time?
Oh, yes. And Dengue Fever. One of our team tried to give blood on their return to the UK, but it was refused! Why? Because Cannes is in an area apparently afflicted by this disease.
Who knew?