March 2011 Archives

Vincent Tchenguiz's hugely anticipated MIPIM party aboard his yacht Veni, Vidi, Vici went ahead last night. 

The champagne flowed for the 70 or so guests aboard. The host himself, however, was absent.  His spokesman Seán Bellew joked: "He is like the Great Gatsby - he never appears at his own parties."

Given the intense media interest in the brothers' arrest, it was little surprise that as the party kicked off at 8pm most of the guests present were from the fourth estate. "I never knew there were so many property journalists," said one "proper" guest.

"I've never been papped before," said one of the journalists present, pointing to the photographers on the quayside snapping guests as they arrived.

Those who think MIPIM is a jolly in the sun will be heartened to know that yesterday was truly cold. Apparently, the conference has been moved a week earlier to accommodate the Porn Industry Festival. I will not attempt to find a common link... though several come to mind!

From its roots as an event focused on Europe, delegates can now see Brazil, Korea and Bahrain, among others, promoting themselves. Is this a sign of a genuine expectation of doing business; the increasing globalisation of the market; or clever opportunism by the promoters of the event?

The single biggest reason to be here remains the volume of people it is possible to meet in a short space of time. Organising diaries for such meetings back in the UK would be logistically challenging. Chance meetings and impromptu coffee or drinks are delightfully beneficial.

Without doubt this has, for me, been one of the most positive MIPIMs. The BS monitor has been evident by its absence and replaced by a serious can-do attitude and determination to prevail and succeed.

Ken Bishop is director, office agency, for DTZ and is based in Manchester

The Manchester Stand has continued to pull in the crowds over the last two days with presentations building on Manchester's focus on science, technology and innovation. There has been a proud showcasing of the varied work undertaken by The University of Manchester in the IVF and Graphene (world's thinnest material - don't worry, I didn't know either) fields by Robert G Edwards; and Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov respectively for which each were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and Physics - not a lot of people know that.

Siemens' Industry Finance Director, Robin Phillips, was joined in one of the sessions by Bruntwood's Chris Ogelsby to again highlight the city's "science powerhouse" with glowing endorsements of the potential for a bespoke real estate offer and collaborative approach between the knowledge based industries, universities and property sector.

My personal MIPIM highlight, for which I and others have painstakingly worked for more than three years, was the launch by Martyn Hulme and David Pringle of the Co-operative Estates of NOMA - Manchester's new £1bn, 4m sq ft, 10-year-plus developments for the Northern Gateway to the city. NOMA simply has it all: an approved masterplan for 1.5m sq ft of new offices, 1.3m sq ft of business and retail space, 10 listed buildings, 900 residential units together with hotels and lifestyle space; all to be set within the new public realm of international standard. NOMA will reinforce Manchester's position in the hierarchy of top European cities. It's so exciting to be part of such an enthusiastic team in bringing NOMA to life. The important next stage is today's NOMA lunch which I must dash for...

Bob Dyson is Development Director/Chairman North West at Jones Lang LaSalle

There's a more serious tone to the postings that have emerged in the past 12 hours. As Jackie Sadek notes, MIPIM feel like hard work this year, and people are buckling down to getting the most from the show.

The official MIPIM blog rounds up the highlights from yesterday.

Tim Garrat from Nottingham is continuing to chronicle his meetings and experiences at the show, as are the Capita Symonds team. Meanwhile the CIJ blog notes that this might be a worse year for the bankers than the property folks.

Europroperty's Bert Erik ten Cate interviewed Olivier Piani of Allianz Real Estate:

And Everything Birmingham interviewed Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council:

I'm delighted that the prevalent view among people I've talked to during my whirlwind tour of MIPIM is one that recognises that London and the UK are at the heart of the international property world.



Of course, we're not perfect, and the key issue that comes up time and time again is infrastructure. In many ways, we're victims of our own success. We have a world-class system but our continuing growth places strain on a design first formulated by the Victorians - or indeed, in some cases, the Romans.


Improvements such as Crossrail (pictured) will be vital in helping us to deliver the capacity needed over the coming years. Infrastructure pays for itself, so we should be counter-cyclical and put in the investment now, before our rivals close the gap. In fact, £1 spent on construction brings £2.84 back into the economy.


Of course, opportunities in this area don't come much bigger than the Olympic Games. London 2012 will showcase us to billions of people across the world and, hopefully, deliver a sustainable legacy for us all.



Infrastructure and real estate go hand-in-hand. When I'm involved in big infrastructure projects or buildings, we use insurers, bankers, hedging, swaps and so on. There's not a single instrument of trade and finance that we don't use.


So, as a lord mayor from the demand side of financial services - a client - I'll be challenging the City to work closely with the property industry for our mutual benefit.


Michael Bear is Lord Mayor of the City of London

Not for the first time, carefully planned launches and meetings at MIPIM were overshadowed by unconnected events.

The arrest of Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz as part of an investigation into the collapse of Icelandic investment bank Kaupthing was being talked about long into the night. As I strolled home along Le Croisette in the early hours of this morning I lost count of the number of times I heard their names being mentioned in late-night, champagne-fuelled conversations.

To read the rest of Damian Wild's take on the unfolding story read our digital magazine MIPIM Today on estatesgazette.com, available this afternoon.

First up, check out the Estates Gazette digital daily, which is now up on the site.

The other estatesgazette.com blogs have been busy today. Lisa Pilkington has been in a photoblogging frenzy on the Midlands Property blog, from temporary offices to a packed Shedmasters do. Stacey Meadwell has been busy, too, finding evidence of an austerity MIPIM and, well, Russian ladies and a 1950s petrol pump. Not to get too meta, but this is one EG blog linking to another, which is talking about a third EG blogger, Jackie Sadek. Blog will eat itself.

Oh, and this picture really makes me wish I was in Cannes.

Back at base, Daniel Cunnigham has rounded up some regional material about MIPIM on the web, Christian Metcalfe points out that the Tchenguiz arrests are likely to blow any news from MIPIM away, and Paul Norman refuses the cynical view of Boris Johnson's activities in France.

Elsewhere, is Easyjet taking advantage of late-booking MIPIM delegates? Can mezzanine be a confusing word in property? And will Edinburgh benefit from calling Stacey lovely?

Oh, OK. All anyone cares about is the yacht. Here's Damian talking about it:

 

It is often said that London and New York are the only truly global financial centres in the world. They set the standard the rest of the world aspires to.

Of course, there are other centres that operate on a global scale in certain sectors but nowhere else offers the breadth and depth of world-class services that London and New York do.

As such, it is naturally assumed that these two cities are fierce competitors and, in the sense that every financial centre has to operate in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, this is true.

However, the relationship between London and New York is also one of shared interests and mutual co-dependence.

It is not an either-or situation, firms do not want to be based in one or the other; they want access to both.

In addition to political pressures borne out of the recent financial crisis, there is one overriding concern that unites both London and New York - the shift of the global marketplace towards the East.

Financial centres in Asia are growing rapidly and are desperate to attract the top global firms that have traditionally been based in London and-or New York.

These centres have many advantages, not least with regards to property, planning and infrastructure.

It is much easier to meet the needs of the international business community - be it for a million square feet of office space or for an efficient, high-capacity transport system - in a brand-new business environment than it is to fit such projects around a medieval street network.

One of the key messages to come out of today's panel discussion, "London, New York: two cities joined by a common vision", in the London Pavilion was that both London and New York need continued investment in property and infrastructure to compete in the global marketplace in the years to come.

We can only succeed in achieving our shared ambitions if we continue to work together, drawing on the experience that makes these two cities the world's leading financial centres.

Stuart Fraser is the policy chairman at the City of London

The halfway point has been reached. Everyone has arrived at MIPIM and the numbers of delegates are noticeably down from the peak of a few years ago. The benefit is a noticeably less frenetic, more business-like approach. "Manageable" is the expression most in use.

The general atmosphere, judging from the majority of people I have spoken to, is that the market is in for a long haul towards recovery. No one is suggesting any quick fixes. The mood is more of pragmatic acceptance and a desire to find creative solutions to development.

There is good news though. Enquiries from inward investors are picking up and this will provide a much-needed boost to the office market once they have been converted. Some interest is also being seen from offshore call centres returning to the UK.

The highlight on the Manchester stand was the launch of The Co-operative Group's masterplan for its ownership around Miller Street. The area has been branded NOMA (pictured). In total, the proposed development comprises 4m sq ft, with both new and refurbished accommodation, retail, office and residential uses.

Coupled with the plans for the regeneration of Victoria station, with the commercial quarter to be developed by Muse, this area of the city is set for an interesting and exciting rebirth.

Ken Bishop is director, office agency, for DTZ and is based in Manchester

It may be an atypically cloudy and cool Cannes at MIPIM this year, but a real highlight, as always, is seeing some of the stands off the beaten track.

Of course, most delegates come to visit the likes of London, Paris, and - judging by the popularity of their bags - Lyon. But there are always some hidden gems and I was delighted to meet the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame (pictured), at the Kigali stand this afternoon.

As lord mayor, a large portion of my time - over 90 days in more than 20 different countries - is spent overseas promoting the UK financial and business services industry. So getting all these nations under one roof here saves me time - if nothing else!

But, having been born in Kenya and educated in South Africa, Africa is especially close to my heart. In fact, on leaving that continent behind I arrived in London with £200 in my pocket and only a single introduction.

I know that Africa offers almost limitless opportunities. Some economists have even said that the 21st century may be an "African century" because of the scale of development available on the continent.

But I also know that some countries are way ahead of the continent in developing business opportunities.

That's why it's pleasing to see President Kagame's "Vision 2020" for his country helping to attract investment across the board - notably real estate and infrastructure. Both are key drivers of economic growth. The City has the expertise and capital to help facilitate these ambitious plans.

Michael Bear is Lord Mayor of the City of London

Panic is afoot in Cannes. The FT broke the news [£] that the Tchenguiz brothers have been arrested [£]. And EG's editor immediately identified what people would be concerned about:

Think about the parties. The FT's Alphaville blog has images of the police outside the brothers' offices, for the curious.

The final Cycle to Cannes reports are coming in. Geoff Rich wrote about his final day, and his overall stats from his bike computer (bikes have computers now...?) last night.

On the work front, the Wisconsin Real Estate folks are posting short summaries of interesting sessions, including this one on China. The official MIPIM blog is publishing videos of sessions. I found this one on urban density an interesting watch:

The session on regulation and the investment market is worth a look, too. Funding appears to be very much on the mind of the Liverpool delegation, too.

Tim Garratt from Team Nottingham goes against the prevailing view, and posts that he feels that MIPIM is quieter this year. Perhaps it'll get busier - Peter Victor of Cushman & Wakefield reports packed flights on the way down.

Lend Lease and London & Continental Railways revealed their International Quarter office campus in Stratford yesterday, as EGi reported on Monday. Glowfrog have published a rather nice rendering of what the scheme will look like:

I'll be doing these updates all week, so feel free to e-mail me with interesting links, or ping me on Twitter. I'm @adders there.

I've been a regular at MIPIM for over 20 years but it's still always an exciting time for all those connected with the property world - especially now that confidence is coming back across the industry.
 
MIPIM offers a chance to meet old friends and see new faces in between talking businesses. People who don't know any better often deride it as an excuse to enjoy the Cannes sunshine but, in reality, it means long hours and hard work. There's simply no better forum to meet all the major decision-makers - even if the number of delegates has fallen from a peak of 29,000 in 2008.
 
So, what story does the City have to tell today?
 
Property is one of City's key success stories. Building infrastructure and innovative architecture that fits into the City's historic street pattern has allowed us to become a magnet for financial services worldwide. The contrast between old and new is stark - you only have to compare the Georgian architecture of Mansion House and the cutting-edge design of the Gherkin.
 
And we're still growing, with a predicted increase of City working population to more then 400,000 over the next 10-15 years. The City experiences a 3,500% increase in its population every day owing to the influx of workers, and a new generation of visionary architecture - with unusual names such as the Shard, Cheesegrater and Helter Skelter - will help to replenish our office stock. In fact, a further 18m sq ft is in the pipeline.
 
Boris - in his own unique way - helped us bang the drum for London today and I was delighted to follow him on stage. It's always been my belief that reward follows quality, and the UK is a world leader when it comes to property.
 
Michael Bear is Lord Mayor of the City of London

 

The first of EG's daily MIPIM eBooks is live on the site. The latest news and videos from Cannes are all in there.

This afternoon, as we've already blogged, the Cycle to Cannes folks arrived at MIPIM. However, they're not the only ones having a challenging journey. Some poor public sector delegates, already facing the prospect of cuts, are now finding themselves being harangued by fellow delegates for wasting public money en route.

The Manchester stand was packed this morning, or at least, so they claim on their blog. If you're curious as to what the Manchester folks are telling people on their stand, they've published a 10 minute video of their presentation. 

Jeremy Eddy of JLL is hoping that a sunny MIPIM will mean a sunny time ahead for the property business. And the idea of French sunshine is making at least one person dream of a future with more solar power in it.

And just to prove how hard the estatesgazette.com team are working, here's Lisa Pilkington captured in mid-interview by @MarketingDerby:

 

Click to see the full picture

And here's Jackie Sadek apparently enjoying a  whisky with Boris. And socialising with Damian:

It's all work, right, Jackie? Oh, maybe not:

"It was a classic chaotic start to MIPIM this morning as I rocked up to the UK Mission stand to be presented with a cloth and a bottle of Jif and told to wipe down the window ledges."

I take it all back.

Looks like the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, was there to greet the Cycle to Cannes folks, on a Boris Bike no less.

The photo was grabbed by estatesgazette.com's head of sales, Jonathan Hamer.

The official MIPIM blog has posted Boris's keynote address in video. 

MIPIM 2011 kicked off for me with Monday evening's Manchester drinks reception in the Manchester apartment, cannily located opposite the Palais. Given the support from the private sector this year this was a superb example of the public-private partnership which Manchester does so well and is the envy of most other regional cities. It is almost, dare I say, David Cameron's Big Society concept in action.

An interesting breakfast meeting at the Carlton Hotel, followed by a meeting on the DTZ boat, demonstrated the benefits of MIPIM. The invaluable exchange of ideas, information and opportunities would have been more difficult to arrange in the UK.

A tour of the exhibitions in the Palais showed the full range of schemes, from the sublime to the ridiculous. The model showing the City of London with the various office towers under construction was extremely well done. As for the more extreme exhibitions, these are probably best not mentioned.

Ken Bishop is director, office agency, for DTZ and is based in Manchester

Anyone speaking before the instantly recognisable and highly quotable mayor of London, Boris Johnson - as I did today on the London Stand - is guaranteed a sizeable audience.

 And, in many ways, our messages are very similar; just as London is absolutely vital to the UK's future economic prospects, so too is the City.



This is the case regardless of whether you are referring to the historical City: the Square Mile; or to the broader City: the UK financial and professional services industry as a whole. The state of the commercial property market - particularly in important business centres - often reflects the state of the economy overall; international developers and financiers would not invest in property if they were not confident there was a market to fill their latest projects.



At the height of the financial crisis, many of the City's most important developments, including many of the landmark tall buildings, were at one stage or another thought to be under threat. 

In 2011, all of these schemes secured the requisite financing for completion - much of it from overseas - and the City will thus be able to offer office space of the quality and quantity to match the specific business needs of potential investors for years to come.



Add to this mix the continued infrastructure development that is so critical to the City's long-term prospects - from the completion of the One New Change retail centre to the government's welcome confirmation that Crossrail will go ahead - and it is clear that the international business community has, quite rightly, retained its confidence in the Square Mile, and indeed in London, as a place in which to do business.

We must do all we can to ensure this remains the case.



Stuart Fraser is the policy chairman at the City of London

Morning has broken over Cannes and MIPIM, which gives me a reasonable excuse to nick this picture from Lisa's blog.

The show's peripheral activity is already underway with dinners held, networking begun and final preparations made.

Team Nottingham has arrived and is raring to go, as is a team from the Wisconsin School of Business Real Estate Program.

Our intrepid cyclists had a tough day yesterday - the bedroom diaries describe it as the "hardest day of my life", but Alistair Craig was able to enjoy the view on the way.

And, of course, the Boris photos have started flowing...

Plenty of time on Eurostar/TGV yesterday enroute to Cannes to anticipate the highlights and challenges of my 19th MIPIM. Not too many fellow 'MIPIM warriors' on board but did see a number running through PowerPoint presentations before we entered the tunnel. A review of my own meeting schedule accentuates the activity and my personal focus around the launch of the Co-operative's Manchester Development - four million sq ft of truly transformational mixed-use development on 20 acres of city centre site. This is already in the making with the Co-operative's new HQ rising like a Phoenix as the centrepiece.

Now sitting back for the duration and thinking about the 100 plus Manchester property elite flying out "Sir Howard's Airways" charter from Manchester Airport with all executive frills afforded. Conspicuous by his absence was my own ubiquitous colleague, Jonathan Mills, who availed himself on the Easyjet flight from John Lennon Airport - which reminds me, I am not looking forward to seeing JLL's retail guru, Tim Vallance after Liverpool's drubbing of Man Utd on Sunday!

Thirteen hours after leaving St Pancras (following a hiccup with the connection in Paris) a stroll past Caffe Roma revealed a much busier scene than last year; and this morning the Russian Stand was as busy as ever from first thing.

Manchester City Council has its usual commanding balcony position in the Palais des Festivals with fabulous interactive displays of all things commercial property and growth related very much to the fore. Sir Howard Bernstein has just opened one of the six MIPIM Manchester presentations with a strong reinforcement of the City's ambition to move Manchester's growth and employment aspirations forward in the science and innovation fields.

The Co-operative's much heralded masterplan is to be launched together with the unveiling of its new identity on the Manchester Stand at 3.45pm tomorrow (Wednesday) when Martyn Hulme and David Pringle of Co-operative Estates will be outlining their plans for this £1 billion development and the likely impact it will have on Manchester's commercial property market. It's a slot not to be missed - be there - drinks reception to follow in the Manchester Apartment.

It's only mid-morning and The Palais is now buzzing. Off for a wander before a light client lunch in readiness for Manchester's Commission for the New Economy afternoon presentation and Jones Lang LaSalle's English Client Dinner this evening... phew... and another three days ahead!

Bert Erik, editor, Europroperty

MIPIM isn't officially underway yet, but already the web is filling up with comments, post and pictures from France - and the route there. Estates Today is running its rather lovely automatic aggregator again this year, but here's some hand-gathered links for you:

Neil Young tries to answer the age-old question: why do we need to go to France to talk UK property? David Cockcroft has a go at answering the same question in a guest post on the Midlands Property blog.

Jackie Sadek is getting distracted by politics as she tries to clear her desk for MIPIM.

Manchester and Leeds are getting ready to go, but, apparently, Scotland has no money for a presence in Cannes this year. They'll be missing out on the "orgies". Oh, well. They could always enjoy a glass of whisky instead...

 

Cycle 2 Cannes

The most prolific MIPIM bloggers so far are the brave folks who are cycling from Greenwich to Cannes in aid of charity and adrenaline rushes.

Kate Eagle is posting on the official site. Alistair Craig of Elliot Wood is suffering some mechanical problems, Geoff Rich of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is delighted to bring us some pain and suffering from the road,  but Joe Huddleston has been ominously quiet since Saturday. Oh, and the GVA team brings us a picture on someone "enjoying" an ice bath...

estatesgazette.com's own Samantha McClary is chronicling her journey day by day on her own blog. You can enjoy her nightly "bedroom diaries", too:

 

As the first Lord Mayor of the City of London to be drawn from the property development world in living memory, I'm delighted to be visiting MIPIM with the UK at centre stage as this year's Country of Honour.

My background in regeneration, infrastructure and engineering has shown me how important property is to the success of our economy. Buildings are in my bones and, in fact, as my wife often says, talking to me is like talking to a brick wall!

The UK has a well-earned reputation among the international real estate community as industry leaders and collectors of best practice.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, first, we're home to the best architects, construction managers, civil engineers and other related professionals. These people - many of whom are here at MIPIM - have gained the expertise and experience of what works when it comes to development across the globe.

Second, we continue to play a key role in setting internationally recognised standards, whether it's through the RICS, the adoption of IPD indices, or the use of BREEAM to benchmark sustainability of buildings.

And, third, confidence that London's property market is on an upward curve is coming back. With the new iconic towers under construction in the City of London, combining with our unique medieval street pattern, we will continue to lead the way in attracting global occupiers to our financial capital.

Property is one of the City's key success stories. Building infrastructure and innovative architecture has allowed us to become a magnet for financial services worldwide. We'll be working hard to sell ourselves as the real City of Choice - the theme of my Mayoralty - to the world this week.

Michael Bear is Lord Mayor of the City of London

As policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, it is my role to lead on issues that affect the City's international competitiveness.

Being based in the Square Mile has numerous advantages; which is why the world's top firms and top talent continue to want to be based here.

However, we also face many challenges, not least that of creating a modern and sustainable property offer and infrastructure network amidst a medieval road network that is home to a number of world-famous landmarks.

These are issues that many newer, purpose-built business environments - especially those in the emerging markets - do not have to consider.

Even during the financial crisis, the City's property market has proven remarkably robust, and recent signs indicate a return to growth. We need to build on this positive progress.

Throughout MIPIM, I will be making speeches, hosting events and meeting with some of the world's leading architects and developers in order to convey one key message:

If the City is to retain its pre-eminent position as one of the leading global financial centres, we need to be able to meet the demands of the international business community - from the smallest boutique operations to global banking headquarters - and property, planning and transportation have a vital role to play.

Stuart Fraser is the policy chairman at the City of London Corporation

MIPIM this year holds more promise this year than for the past four years. The usual challenge of the means of travel will be easier, courtesy of the special charter plane laid on by Manchester airport. Given the spread of the Manchester property market glitterati on board, the City might have considered taking key man insurance.

There has recently been a sense that, albeit slowly, the market is being to turn in the right direction. It will be interesting to see the collective mood of the conference after the challenges of recent years and to see whether my new-found optimism is generally shared.

What I am looking for this week? I will certainly be looking to extend, or cement, my range of contacts - which can be easier to achieve in the more informal and relaxed surroundings of MIPIM than is the case in the UK. There is also the opportunity to learn and to extend knowledge.

But key, of course, will be to spot the new business opportunities essential to make the investment in time and money beneficial and to make the physical and mental exhaustion - which comes from the route marches along La Croisette from meeting to meeting, event to event - worthwhile, not to mention the lack of sleep!

Ken Bishop is director, office agency, for DTZ and is based in Manchester

Estates Gazette will be at Mipim in force this year. You will already have seen our digital preview edition, published this week. 

We will be bringing you breaking news throughout the event online and through our digital daily editions, published on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. On Thursday we'll be staging a live web seminar, sponsored by GVA. For the first time you'll be able to ask questions from the comfort of your own desk to our panel in Cannes, including the Lord Mayor of the City of London. 

All this and more is available all week through estatesgazette.com.

Other estatesgazette blogs that will be covering Mipim:

• Cycle to Cannes
• Jackie Sadek
• The Focus Blog
• The Midlands Property Blog