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This year’s MIPIM event showed an overall positive sentiment towards the real estate investments market and the quality of Guernsey’s offering as an international finance centre, according to Peter Miller, executive director at EY in the Channel Islands.
Mr Miller attended the event – the world’s largest global property expo, held in Cannes – as part of a Guernsey Finance delegation and joined more than 21,000 individuals including investors, fund managers, intermediaries and other professionals with a stake in the real estate market.
The Guernsey delegation included representatives from Babbé, Collas Crill and Orangefield Legis. Mr Miller also served as the Channel Islands representative among the 75 attendees from across EY’s global network. The purpose was to leverage the event’s unparalleled networking opportunities as well as educating delegates regarding Guernsey’s offering as a finance centre and how it can serve the needs of the real estate market.
“MIPIM is a landmark event and is an invaluable opportunity for us to promote Guernsey’s position to key industry figures. There was a great response to our presence, with a good number of enquiries and some tangible results, including the closing of a deal that begun at last year’s event.
“There was a general sense that Guernsey has a favourable reputation in the industry. Feedback from attendees at the stand suggested the island is renowned for its quality of service providers and the consistency of service; the unusually high proportion of knowledgeable and talented practitioners and the ability to provide all services at this level is where this appeal draws from,” he said.
MIPIM 2015’s conference programme focused on a number of topical themes including disruptive technologies, smart cities and crowdfunding. The key conclusions of the event, however, remained more traditional, outlining general trends in the market and key geographies for investment.
“The market is strong, with more activity and a greater risk appetite. We learned that confidence is increasing in Western Europe, in places like Spain and Ireland, with stability returning but good exchange rates against the euro remaining. The UK was a big focus, with London still seen as the top place to invest globally, but there was an increased focus on other areas as destinations for inward investment, particularly the Midlands and northern counties,” said Mr Miller.
“There was definite positivity for the market and this will reflect favourably on the Channel Islands. It was once again a great success for Guernsey’s messaging, helping to further increase the island’s business network and emphasise what it can offer. Practitioners recognise that this is less about tax and more about great service. We’re coming across less hesitation from the industry to use ‘offshore vehicles’; demand is for fit for purpose and expertly-delivered solutions, regardless of the jurisdiction they hail from.”
