March 2023 was my first time to attend MIPIM in Cannes.  MIPIM is the world’s leading real estate market event, and I must say it was a real eye opener for me.  I have attended many real estate conferences in both the United States and Europe, but MIPIM takes it to a whole new level in terms of the wide range of professionals associated with the real estate industry who attend, and the calibre of attendees.   In short it is:

•           21,000 plus delegates

•           €4 Trillion of assets managed by investors attending.

•           90 Countries

•           300 plus stands.

But what amazed me was that our nearest neighbours in the UK had a significant presence at MIPIM with stands from Liverpool, Manchester, London, West Midlands, (Bermingham & surrounds) Newcastle, Southampton, and Belfast.

But Ireland Inc had absolutely no presence at all at MIPIM either last year or this year 2024.  Not one single stand.

I attended MIPIM 2024 at the Palais de Festival in Cannes from the 12th to the 15th March, and even though there was no stand representing Ireland Inc at the conference, the 6am Ryanair flight from Dublin Airport to Nice on the way out was jammed full of Irish professionals who are associated with the property industry heading to MIPIM to represent their own private companies.

The National Association of Realtors in the United States (NAR) have a stand there that is 40 metres long which they have divided up into sections with 5 individual states each taking a four-metre section. This year Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee and Florida each took a section. NAR committed to being there for the next five years, so they obviously feel that they’re getting a return on their investment.

Every country in Europe and every major city in Europe seemed to be there, and the stands were certainly impressive.  So, it makes you wonder why Ireland Inc has absolutely no presence there at all.  If every other country and every city in Europe feel that they’re getting a good return on their investment in MIPIM, why is it that Ireland seems to think that it is not worth our while?

Every pension fund, every investment fund, every large commercial bank were there with a significant presence, looking for investments in which to place their substantial funds, so again why is it that Ireland Inc is not touting for that business?

We certainly have plenty to sell, and Ireland has always proved to be an extremely popular location for investments.

For example, Cork City have plans to develop the Docklands area and there are also plans to have a light rail system to Cork airport. Is that not something that the city of Cork could display at an Ireland stand?

Galway Port development is at an advanced stage, so it stands to reason that a project such as that should be displayed at a property conference like MIPIM to attract inward investment to Galway.

Some cities had huge scale models of their city, or projects within their city, on display with experts on hand to advise on the investment opportunities available. London had a huge, scaled model of the entire City of London in colour which I must say was very impressive and attracted a lot of people to the stand.

So, let’s imagine this, an Ireland Inc stand divided into four or five sections with each section dedicated to Galway, Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Waterford, with a separate hospitality section sponsored by Guinness, Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Bulmers, Butlers Chocolates, Bord Bia, Glenisk, Baileys, The Shed Distillery etc.

Imagine a scale model of Cork Docklands showing the proposed developments in the city of Cork and showing the proposed light rail system to the airport. Likewise with Galway and Limerick, showing their proximity to Shannon airport and highlighting the planned development in both cities.

There has been no Ireland Inc presence at MIPIM for a long time but maybe, just maybe 2025 will be the start of a long and fruitful harvest for Ireland in the south of France.  Allez le Verde.

Liam Hogan

info@hoganestates.com

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