After my lunch yesterday I headed off in search of my colleagues – who had walked so far they were virtually out of Cannes. Coffee shops are a necessary evil (!) of MIPIM – if only to rest your feet and, if possible, to find wifi!

The sun sets on MIPIM 2011

I had a last look around ‘The Bunker‘ and met up with another developer who I hadn’t seen for 3 years. He was fairly bullish about the market and is keen to look at one particular scheme in Nottingham – we are meeting in a couple of weeks time.

Our evening was rounded off with a Team Nottingham meal – to reflect on MIPIM 2011. And the verdict from the French Jury…

* It was much more focussed this year; the ‘flash the cash’ crowd had gone.

* We needed Invest in Nottingham and NRL – it gave us credibility.

* We made an impression and were noticed. We have around 80 new contacts.

* We entertained and engaged with real prospects across many sectors.

From a personal perspective it was also a successful show. There are opportunities at MIPIM to meet new people, but also catch up with other friends and acquaintances in an environment that encourages people to hang around and chat.

I never did persuade the team to guest blog – but I did manage to extract some comments:

Lorraine Baggs – Invest in Nottingham – “I had valuable conversations with 2 or 3 Companies interested in Energy Park – and these will be followed up when I get back to the UK”

Mike Taylor – NRL – “I had several discussions with serious investor / developers regarding the potential redevelopment of Trent Basin”

Richard Flischer – CPMG Architects – “At MIPIM everyone fights for their town. If you’re not here you have no voice; you lose”

Jon Enever – Gleeds – “Team Nottingham once again showed that Nottingham can punch above it’s weight.”

Matt Tucker – Morgan Tucker – “I won two commissions in the last afternoon; that’s the real value to my business.”