Photo: Real Estate MagazineAfter a two-year delay due to the pandemic, MIPIM, the world's largest property market, was finally held from March 15 to 18 at the Cannes Festival Palace. The overall impression of 20,000 participants from 80 countries, including West Properties (www.westproperties.rs), Serbia's only exhibitor, is that the entire real estate market missed a lot of live events and face-to-face interactions, which are the most effective ways to network and form business agreements.
WEST PROPERTIES AND REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE TEAM AT MIPIM 22
As usual, this year's MIPIM (www.mipim.com) brought together the biggest players from all sectors of the real estate industry. The four-day event, which was covered live for the first time by the team of our magazine, was especially exciting because 20,000 delegates from the industry found themselves together for the first time in a long time without any pandemic restrictions, except for the recommendation to wear masks. It was more than enough encouragement for the meetings of old and new delegates to be cordial, open and constructive, with a great desire to explore new business opportunities.
In numbers, MIPIM 22 looked like this: 20,000 delegates from 80 countries; 2,400 exhibitor companies; 350 exhibition stands and pavilions on 18,500 sqm of exhibition area. Delegates from France made up the largest contingent, followed by the UK and then Germany. There were no exhibitors from Russia and Ukraine at this year's event, although they were previously registered.
Investors comprised a quarter of delegates to MIPIM, including those from top funds & real estate investors from across the globe. The major brokerage firms and 150 city leaders from around the world participated in MIPIM.
From our region, the exhibitors were companies and local governments from Slovenia that performed together at the stand of Slovenia, under the slogan "Invest in Slovenia", brought to MIPIM by the Slovenian Public Agency for Entrepreneurship Development and Foreign Investments, SPIRIT (www.spiritslovenia.si). The exhibitor at the Slovenian stand was also the City of Ljubljana, whose project "Cukrarna"—an old sugar factory turned into a gallery—was shortlisted for the MIPIM award for the best project of a renovated building.
This year, there were no exhibitors from Croatia and Montenegro at MIPIM, but there were delegates from these countries who visited the event and with whom we had the opportunity to discuss potential cooperation and trends in the real estate sector in the region. Many of them came to visit the stand of West Properties, which was the only exhibitor from Serbia. At the West Properties stand, we also talked to a delegation from the Serbian company Delta Real Estate, which also visited MIPIM.
VLADIMIR VUKIĆEVIĆ, CEO, AND VLADIMIR POPOVIĆ, MANAGING DIRECTOR
For West Properties (www.westproperties.rs), a leader among domestic providers of the widest range of real estate services, participating and exhibiting at MIPIM was a valuable experience and a testament to professionalism and ambition that can stand side by side with world-class brokerage firms, such as CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank and Savills, who were also exhibitors at the fair. Unlike these companies, which operate as large international brokerage houses and which participated in the fair with delegates from all countries in which they operate, West Properties participated in MIPIM as an original Serbian brand that operates to the highest professional standards.
The West Properties team, led by Vladimir Vukicević, CEO, and Vladimir Popović, Managing Director, and with them, the real estate team, numbered seven delegates, who had a unique opportunity to see how the real estate industry operates at the highest level, and to make numerous significant contacts with potential new clients from around the world.
As the only exhibitor from Serbia and a real estate provider with a wide network of business in the local and regional market, West Properties used the opportunity to present to foreign clients the investment potential of Serbia, which was featured in a special MIPIM issue of Real Estate magazine and distributed to fair participants. Several meetings on this topic were held at the WP stand with clients from the USA, UAE, Germany, France, Slovenia, and Croatia. Vrnjačka Banja (www.vrnjackabanja.gov.rs) stood out as the most attractive offer for investing in Serbian spas, with several exclusive projects in Goč mountain and the center of the spa, as well as the municipality of Irig (www.irig.rs), which offered two exceptional locations near the Vrdnik spa, and at the exit from Irig in the direction of Fruška Gora, where the construction of tourist complexes is planned. We were proud to introduce to the guest of the stand the domestic construction company Jadran (www.jadran-bg.rs) as a leader among the contractors of the most demanding construction works in Serbia, with global experience and recommendations.
JOINED FORCES: IREP AND WEST PROPERTIES TEAM
MIPIM 22 was also an ideal opportunity for West Properties to announce its partnership with IREP (International Real Estate Partners), which is an expert in providing facilities management services and currently operates in 49 countries on six continents. Together, West Properties and IREP (www.irepartners.com) will expand brokerage and FM services in Serbia through the partner brand IREP & WEST, as well as in seven other countries in the Balkans (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Albania, and Greece), providing innovative solutions that are not currently available in the regional market. The new partner company will operate regionally, with its headquarters in Belgrade. The IREP delegation also participated in the MIPIM promotion of the new IREP & WEST brand and the services it will provide in the Balkans. It was a great opportunity for the WP team to get closer and exchange experiences with colleagues from IREP, who came to the event from different parts of the world: London, Bahrain, Spain, Bulgaria, and Dubai.
IVANOVIĆ WINES WERE SERVED AT THE WP STAND
The offer that none of the guests could resist at the West Properties stand were the wines of the Ivanović Winery (www.ivanovicvino.com) - Prokupac and Tamjanika - which received the highest ratings and comments, saying that they were better than many of the wines that were drunk at MIPIM! During the four days of the fair, all exhibitors had the opportunity to host foreign delegates with some of their specialties or wines, and at the West Properties stand, all four days were served the two most beautiful authentic Serbian wines. Not only were the conversations easier and more pleasent with our wines, but our entire delegation was really proud of the pleasure that Serbian wines gave to numerous guests from different parts of the world.
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE AS A SPEAKER AT THE OPENING CEREMONY
The theme of this year's MIPIM was "Driving urban change", ie incentives for adapting cities to a greener way of life in accordance with climate change. Former French President Francois Hollande also spoke on this topic during the opening ceremony of MIPIM. “We must build more housing, densify the city – and for this we must remove apprehensions about building permits. The next crises to come will relate to climate change. It is the public leaders who have the responsibility to avoid or at least reduce the climate crisis”, he pointed out.
During MIPIM, numerous conferences and panels were held with 360 speakers. Topics ranged from green as the new black to innovative IT technologies in the real estate industry. Among the most notable conferences were those on smart cities in Asia, hybrid workspace after the pandemic, the possibilities of developing the real estate industry in the Metaverse, gender equality in the real estate business, etc. The Nordic countries, Turkey, the UK, and France also attracted a lot of attention with their conferences, as well as Egypt, which was the general sponsor of MIPIM 22 and the host of the opening reception.
What makes us especially proud is the fact that Real Estate magazine was the only media outlet from Serbia and the region that followed MIPIM 22 live. Our first MIPIM was marked by numerous contacts with real estate players from around the world, but also with colleagues from several world real estate media, which will result in cooperation and new projects at the regional and European level.
A special MIPIM edition of Real Estate magazine was placed at the event together with other world real estate magazines, and we had the opportunity to meet and talk with the MIPIM Director Ronan Vaspart.
EDITOR IN CHIEF OF REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE WITH MIPIM DIRECTOR RONAN VASPART
Not only was the Festival Palace and the pavilions around it full of real estate delegates from all over the world, but also the whole of Cannes, which in those days was crowded with guests in its many bars and restaurants, as well as at evening receptions and cocktails on yachts and penthouses around the Palace. Because this is how it is done during MIPIM, intensively socializing and talking even after the official part of the program, which contributes to even better networking on a global level.
We at West Properties and West Media World, as the publisher of Real Estate magazine, have now become part of that global network, and we have a lot of work ahead of us to realize what we have now agreed upon. Until the next MIPIM and a new trip to Cannes!
By: Gordana Knežević Monašević
Photo: Real Estate Magazine
