At the top of my blog is a link to a page about MIPIM.
Matt (L), Gary(R) and myself at the Nottingham Dinner 2009
As the year end approaches we start to plan for MIPIM2010. This will be my seventh visit to the International property show – held in Cannes on the Cote D’Azur.
The show has changed over the time I have been going – in the early days it was seen as something of a ‘reward’ and attracted large numbers of Surveyors who spent hours (days & nights) in Cafe Roma… But this year there was a change as many of the large firms cut back their exposure as the property market crashed. So the delegates were there for business – less in number and more focused. We, as a firm, have cut back our expenditure from the heady days of 2006/7!
My Partner Matt Hannah has always said he would rather do business in Blackpool, but I disagree. If we were in Blackpool people would pop back to the office or just do a day trip. The effort of getting to Cannes stops this. And the Cannes climate does add something critical (we have had always had good weather). Blackpool doesn’t have this sort of attraction (admittedly it was 1977 when I was last there!)
But I also think that there is also something of a microcosm in Cannes for the four days or so of the festival. People are focused and (iphone / blackberry permitting) in networking mode.
The ability to network in the surroundings of the Cote D’Azur is priceless. There are organised events – people vying for your attendance at Breakfasts, Lunches, Teas and Dinners means a fairly full diary! But there are also ad-hoc meetings – people will strike up a conversation with you. The ability to use a yacht for meetings with clients also does hold something of an attraction! Over the last few years the crew on board have been superb.
My firm are sponsors of Invest in Nottingham. We also support Derby Cityscape and Prospect Leicestershire. I will be there supporting Nottingham Regeneration Limited too. We are keen to use MIPIM as our shop window on the World – and encourage investment. The spin off is, potentially, work for my firm.
So, if you are attending let me know – we will be there from Tuesday 16th to Friday 19th March. I will be blogging from the show…
January 16th, 2010 at 15:20
[...] an update January 16, 2010 Tim GARRATT Leave a comment Go to comments I have blogged before about my attendance at the MIPIM property show in Cannes. Hotel 'Nottingham' in Cannes Today the [...]