Mipim, the global real estate conference held each year in Cannes, France, begins this Tuesday, promising a packed agenda and a litmus test of the market for the 20,000-plus delegates, including leading politicians, investors, sovereign wealth funds and advisers from more than 90 countries. But what are those in attendance most hoping to learn, present, hustle and bring back home?
In terms of the UK's commitment, there has rarely been a more high-profile political turnout. Among a large number of representatives, London mayor Sadiq Khan is for once making the journey across the Channel, so delegates naturally expect there will be a major announcement about the capital. A heavyweight team from football club Manchester United will be in town to promote new development around the Old Trafford stadium, including Lord Sebastian Coe, who has become chairman of Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force to his many titles, and Collette Roche, the team's chief operating officer.
As is always the case, the UK national government's plans will be a principal topic of conversation, not least because two important updates are imminent. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is promising to radically speed up housebuilding and investment in infrastructure and commercial development, could be introduced during the conference, while the Spring Statement, the government's next major financial update, is expected on 26 March.
Away from the UK, tumultuous global geopolitical discussions around the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, potentially escalating trade tariffs and changing governments in many countries, will be top of mind. Sweeping events in history have a habit of taking place during the conference, turning carefully made plans upside down. Last year's Mipim was a decidedly tame one by recent standards, after COVID, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the collapse of Credit Suisse in previous years, though that went hand in hand with a dispiriting lack of big announcements as the market continued to stutter towards a recovery. The conference was dominated by the search for clarity on themes such as the return to office, the need to build more sustainably and higher-for-longer interest rates.
The worry for many leading into this year's conference is that there is no clarity. At the same time, the need for signposts to navigate the industry's existential challenges makes the conference more important than ever.
Organiser RX says real estate is "undergoing its most significant transformation yet", driven by shifting demographics, geopolitical changes, sustainability demands and technological advancements, while Europe’s economic competitiveness is under pressure. It says these issues will be top of mind at Mipim 2025, including during the opening keynote session on 11 March, where industry leaders will explore the future of sustainable investment, infrastructure development and policy innovation.
The leaders' views
Victoria Towers, head of commercial real estate, at law firm Forsters, neatly sums up what almost all are looking for. “The buzz phrase doing the rounds in Cannes last year was 'survive until ‘25' and yet here we are racing towards the end of the first quarter of the year with Mipim once again in our sights and — with the exception of a few pockets of the market — the overall picture remains one of uncertainty with another challenging year in store," she says. Helpfully she has already coined a new phrase for this year's event: "In the mix until '26?"
Towers says that aside from the economy, though of course they are linked, the "big macro themes of sustainability and the decarbonisation of real estate, shifting demographic trends, the inexorable march of technology including data and AI, set against changing and uncertain geopolitical backdrop, will no doubt dominate the conference agenda and chat among delegates".
She adds that as a meeting place and “state of the nation” barometer for the industry, there is nothing quite like Cannes' La Croisette promenade during Mipim.
Colin Wilson, Cushman & Wakefield's chief executive officer in EMEA, says it is a hugely important event for the global brokerage. Partly, he says, because for real estate it highlights the importance of physically bringing people together. "It's a bit around the return to the office. We are bringing in people from around the world to talk to the investor and customer base. It is so important to have that physical meeting."
Wilson says there will be much to reflect on. "There is a lot going on and still a little bit of uncertainty economically. The three big engines in Europe face that. The situation in France and Germany politically, and in the UK, which post-Budget became more negative or perhaps neutral, that tempers business confidence. Some economies in Southern Europe are performing pretty well and I think there is some correlation there around general stability."
Wilson adds that "prime" will be a big theme. "That's prime offices, retail, industrial and logistics. Generally there is liquidity and demand there. And another theme will be around bigger deals and I suspect stories will emerge on the Croisette of a definite uptick in liquidity for bigger deals. Commitments by Norges with Grosvenor and Modon in London, the latter which we were involved in, that is a sign of commitment to a most likely recovering property market."
Blackstone's head of real estate Europe James Seppala says the conference will undoubtedly focus on what's next following a challenging period for real estate investors.
"We believe we are in the midst of a recovery in commercial real estate, driven by the lowering cost of capital, particularly here in Europe, as well as a limited new supply backdrop. We expect sectors benefiting from these tailwinds, like hospitality, logistics, residential and the digital economy to be front of mind for investors, in addition to resurgent themes like office."
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, has her sights firmly set on communicating the industry group's solutions for getting the UK building again, which she says will be a universal conversation. "A chronic undersupply of housing isn’t unique to the UK, with similar challenges existing across the developed world. Given this, housing is going to be high on the agenda at Mipim this year and the UK will be an important part of that conversation."
Her other tip to feature strongly in the Palais des Festivals' presentations and talk in the restaurants and bars are public-private partnerships. "While interest rates are expected to fall in 2025, the cost of debt remains relatively high, as do materials and labour costs and innovative partnerships will be needed to ensure that projects are viable for investors, as well as delivering outstanding results for local communities.”
Kevin Aitchison, managing director, head of Europe, Savills Investment Management, says the continued macroeconomic uncertainty means that core and core-plus investors will are likely to be much more introspective this year, placing a greater emphasis on "portfolio resilience, liability matching and performance credentials – particularly as the underperformance of traditional fixed income leaves LPs seeking yield elsewhere".
He suggests "intrinsically defensive sectors" such as living and logistics, are well-positioned to outperform in this part of the cycle and it follows that these asset classes are likely to dominate investor appetites. The opportunity provided by real estate debt is especially strong in the context of continued bank retrenchment and the narrow spreads seen in public markets, he adds.
“An aversion to country-specific risk also suggests that genuinely pan-European strategies will prove popular, both to diversify and to implement strategic real estate allocations" he says. The exception, Aitchison suggests, is "nascent asset classes where GPs can capitalise on obvious and concentrated supply gaps", such as in the UK where affordable housing provision is at historic lows.
Matt Walton, head of development, UK and Ireland at IHG Hotels & Resorts, sees Mipim as an important opportunity to get his asset class in front of a global audience that may not typically think about hotels. "Its about increasing the visibility of the subsector as well as the visibility of what we are doing. We want to increase the focus on our asset class for the institutions and investors that may not be exposed to it."
Jessica Hardman, chief executive and co-founder of the recently launched living investor Aboria Capital, is also in town to put her sector and business in front of the large, varied audience. After many years at Mipim, she says she is particularly excited to be wearing both her new Aboria Capital hat, and the BPF president hat.
"Since launching Aboria, we have been really encouraged by the strong interest and support from investors across key global markets, and Mipim presents an ideal opportunity to cement some of these relationships," she says, pointing to the huge business opportunity most are hoping to tap into.
“The UK and European living sector will no doubt remain in focus at this year’s conference, but I’m confident that Aboria will stand out," she says. She is particularly looking forward to connecting with institutional investors about opportunities in the living sector that "drive greater transparency, foster innovation, and harness data more effectively for better outcomes".
Louise Bonham, chief executive, MAPP, the real estate consultancy, says she is going to be sharing some of the data and insight the company has been formulating in the run-up to Mipim, and compare that with what others are seeing. "The opportunity to combine very tangible leading indicators gained through our work, what we see as less certain macro-themes and the perspective of our industry connections on the Croisette is coming at the perfect time. The global picture may feel opaque, but we expect to come away from Cannes with a great range of views on the near-term future for UK property."
Michael Bickford, chief executive, Round Hill Capital, a real estate investment manager, says he is expecting to hear that more investors are returning to the market and pursuing opportunities as valuations are bottoming out. "Recently Round Hill Capital has been building a residential platform of more than 3,000 units in Europe and we are well positioned to continue to deploy capital on behalf of our commingled funds in our conviction sectors, with a focus on residential for rent in Europe, delivering high quality living products in areas of high demand." He describes Mipim as a great way to "gauge broader market sentiment and help us identify future investment and development opportunities in line with our strategies".
Cushman Europe CEO Wilson says that, to varying degrees, the valuation correction has taken effect and allows investors to be more certain on business plans. "The variant is a pretty resilient occupational market in terms of prime but the issue has been a lack of development, a lot of which has been driven by cost and viability." In previous cycles, Wilson suggests, if offices weren't viable, there was no alternative until the cycle had picked up. However, that has changed: "There are more options and we are seeing that on the sellside in various markets. We expect '25 to be better than '24. We may not see the hockey stick pick-up we saw post Covid but I expect that transactional activity will improve during the year. I suspect there will be a lot of chatter around so and so bringing x to the market. For us we have a big presence and you will see lots of branding around. There has been a very significant new brand and statement writ large over social media in recent months for us and you will see more of that."
A who's who
So who will delegates be looking out for? From the public sector there will be mayors of Rome, Madrid and Athens as well as London, alongside senior political leaders from many regions. There will also be many of the world’s largest real estate investors and sovereign wealth funds, including AXA IM Alts, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, CBRE Global Investors, DWS, Singapore's GIC, Korea Investment Corporation, LaSalle Investment Management, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Pimco Prime Real Estate, Qatar Investment Authority, Retail Employees Superannuation Fund, Swiss Life, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, The World Bank pension fund, Saudi Aramco subsidiary Wisayah global investment company and Zurich Insurance.
Looking to do business and learn about opportunities will be representatives from most of the other major players: from Blackstone, Landsec and L&G to all of the world's leading brokerages.
It would be unwise to rule out major strategic announcements from the likes of CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield, though last year, Newmark stole the headlines with its pre-Mipim confirmation that it had bought Gerald Eve, as reported.
Attendees will be eager to have the chance to get in front of investors and delegations from all over the world – and compare notes. European delegations will be joined by representatives from Japan, Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, amongst others. New delegations attending Mipim for the first time are jetting in from Bahrain, Uzbekistan and South Korea.
Rachel Shone, managing director, real estate, at Principal Asset Management, says she is anticipating geopolitics to be a focus of many discussions as these factors "unsurprisingly weigh heavy on investors’ minds". She lists these as looming tariffs, minority governments in France and Germany, and ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. She points out that these factors should be thought of as potential headwinds that investors may need to navigate as they manage their portfolios this year. For that reason she anticipates strategies will focus on "areas of secular growth and those less susceptible to volatility in wider financial markets".
Christopher Mertlitz, managing director, head of European Investments at WP Carey, says the conference offers a "timely platform for the industry to gather together and assess the trajectory of the European real estate market". He adds that discussions around evolving monetary policies, economic conditions and regulatory shifts will all provide valuable perspectives. He predicts that there will be evidence of the market shifting from a "survival mindset to a more ambitious outlook".
As always, there will be a packed programme of presentations and debates across the Palais des Festivals and inside the stalls along Cannes' beachfront. Mipim says it will host workshops on residential, logistics, offices, healthcare, data centres and life sciences. The programme has been expanded to tackle real estate’s biggest challenges, from AI and talent to decarbonisation and shifting urban needs. For what is being promised, click here.
As ever though, it will be just as much in the bars and restaurants, marquees, yachts and apartments, and via chance collisions along La Croisette that so much of the best intelligence will emerge.
CoStar News and its sister titles Business Immo and Thomas Daily News will be in Cannes covering the conference with all of the breaking news and key announcements as well as video interviews with leading participants. Keep track of all our coverage here.