Sitting on the train to Paris, here are some reflections on this year's MIPIM:
- Glad I took a coat – this was by far the coldest, windiest and wettest MIPIM that I have attended. I pity the poor cyclists who packed for the predicted weather of back to back sunshine, only to find that a low pressure system had moved in after they left London. They shivered their way around Cannes after using up their body fat in the 1,400 km bike ride. Well done to them.
- Solving London's growth needs – there was lots of debate about how to meet London's housing and economic needs. There was a feisty discussion at Addleshaw Goddard's Housing for London session, featuring the leaders of Hounslow and Barking & Dagenham, David Lunts of the GLA, Graeme Craig of TfL and Mark Boleat of the Corporation of London. The general tone was that there are huge opportunities for meeting housing needs, but it will take very firm leadership and early dialogue with communities that will be affected by increased levels of construction.
- Challenges for the new Mayor of London – there was a sense of pessimism at a London First dinner that the new Mayor will be capable of meeting the scale of the challenge faced by London, particularly to achieve construction of 50,000 new homes a year. In our "Meeting London's Needs" report for British Land, we have proposed some solutions that could be adopted by the Mayor. One of these is to find a way to engage the public in a genuine debate about what London should look like if it is to achieve growth objectives. Our report can be found here.
- Impressive turnouts – perhaps the best turnout of the week was the hundred of so attendees to the Old Oak Common breakfast briefing on Thursday morning – a graveyard slot if there ever was one. This reflects the scale of opportunity that exists in west London and the interest generated by Victoria Hills and her team. The London at MIPIM team arranged lots of informative sessions and concluded with a very well-attended debate about tall buildings in London.
- Reflecting on the budget – there was a general sense of frustration about aspects of the budget, particularly the impact of stamp duty changes on the build to rent sector. At a time when the country needs a holistic response to the housing crisis, there was concern that an additional 3% levy would be very damaging to already tight viability and land buying ability.
- An amazing place for catching up – one of the great benefits of MIPIM is the ability to have the kind of 5 minute catch up with clients, politicians, officials, former colleagues and old friends that does not happen enough in London. Alongside the ability to make new contacts, the value of this ultimate real estate networking event cannot be underestimated.
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