On the international scene, MIPIM 2015 will see significant participation growth from key European territories such as Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, while the United States delegation is tipped to increase by some 20 percent. Initiated by the National Association of Realtors, the United States will have its first dedicated pavilion presenting residential, office and industrial projects. Northern neighbour Canada will also have its first pavilion showcasing development projects from 18 cities and regions.
With some 220 exhibiting companies,*) Germany's presence on the MIPIM exhibition floor will be 10 percent up on 2014 and the total size of the German delegation makes it the third largest at the event, with over 800 companies scheduled to be in Cannes. The German architects pavilion will host 22 architect and accompanying firms that include Rainer Schmidt Landscape Architects, Sauerbruch Hutton, Eller + Eller Architekten, Gerber Architekten and Auer Veber. And a wide array of projects will be on show from such cities and regions as Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart and the North-Rhine-Westfalia region.
Since its first edition in 1990, MIPIM has sought to identify major trends that will have a lasting and important impact on the international real estate industry. In 2015, MIPIM is taking a long, hard look at the Digital Revolution that is already affecting and 'disrupting' such diverse industries as retail, music, publishing and finance.
New players from the digital sector are now rolling out tools and practices linked to international property. Storage and analysis of massive quantities of data, known as Big and Open Data, now has the potential to provide businesses with increasingly sophisticated real estate management tools and will feature significantly at MIPIM. The dedicated, hi-octane pitching session "Digital Economy Challenges Real Estate Sector: Disruptors at the Door," will see eight digital economy companies pitching their businesses - ranging from managing portfolios to developing smart cities and funding future projects - to a panel of investors.
Continuing the digital theme, MIPIM delegates will have the opportunity to access discussions on crowdfunding, including a presentation from Fundrise, the US real estate crowdfunding and investment platform, while Airbnb Country Manager (France, Belgium & Morocco) Nicolas Ferrary will be part of discussions on the sharing economy, alongside Allianz Real Estate CEO Olivier Piani. Just as the real estate industry evolves, so too does MIPIM.
With rapid growth being recorded in the Industrial & Logistics, Healthcare Real Estate and Hotel, Tourism & Leisure segments, these fast-developing sectors have been brought together in a dedicated, 800 square meter Asset Class Hub. This new addition to MIPIM features exhibition, networking and conference facilities showcasing the latest in logistics solutions, debating hospitality trends and sharing knowledge on where healthcare real estate is heading. In logistics and healthcare, Germany has established itself as a European leader. Record levels of take-up in industrial and logistics have been driven by the country's surge in e-commerce and the shift in shopping patterns as consumers head online. The German healthcare real estate sector attracted 1.4 billion euros of investment in 2014 according to Corpus Sireo Investment Management and expenditure on healthcare in general now accounts for 16 percent of Germany's GDP.
In the popular MIPIM Innovation Forum, the latest and most innovative solutions to increase the value of real estate assets will be on show. Designed to address the concerns of companies involved in industrial and IT solutions, architecture, developing smart cities and buildings, sustainability and facilities management, the MIPIM Innovation Forum will this year introduce the new Architecture Café, bringing together major European architecture associations, private architect practices and urban planners.
Two of the 'hot ticket' events at MIPIM are the Real Estate Investors' Summit and the Mayors' Think Tank.This year's March 10 Investors' Summit will bring together some 40 leading pension and sovereign wealth funds ranging from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Italy's Poste Vita to the Employees Retirement System of Texas and Canada's Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. Together they will discuss their real estate strategies in a fast-changing market.
March 11 sees the seventh edition of the Mayors' Think Tank attended by some 80 city mayors and urban administrators who will discuss disruptive strategies for attracting investment in cities. Keynoting at the event is Rodrigo Nino, CEO and Founder of Prodigy Network, the company that is successfully pioneering the marriage between crowdfunding and investment in commercial real estate.
*) All attendance statistics are day-to-date equivalents 2015 vs 2014 as of 18/02/2015.