Mipim — Bubbling under

Can four days in the south of France in March help your career or your business? A number of quangos and deputy prime minister John Prescott might think long and hard about that question, having been denounced by a national newspaper as profligate for attending Mipim, the property industry’s biggest event.

The conference and exhibition in Cannes is better known for the copious amounts of champagne consumed by delegates than for the deals struck while they down those glasses. But, as some of our editorial advisory board acknowledge elsewhere in this issue, major deals can be done.

Property adviser King Sturge has a big Mipim presence, hosting a party for more than a thousand clients, as well as often exhibiting in the bunker – as the Mipim venue, the grim-looking grey concrete Palais de Festivals – is affectionately known.

John Foddy, partner with King Sturge, says:

“It is a massive networking opportunity in terms of people like the financial institutions and the development corporations. We would rarely find such a diverse range of clients all in the same place.”

Big cities such as London, Manchester and Liverpool are at the event in force, with an army of developers and consultants in tow to help them compete for inward investment, most recently against eastern Europe’s upcoming and often lavishly-promoted locations.

Behind the champagne image, Foddy says a lot of work is done. “We make it clear to staff that it is a serious networking event and has to generate a return. It is hard work.”

But you don’t have to splash out on an exhibition stand to get the most out of the event. Assael Architecture has attended Mipim for eight years and never taken a stand. It reckons taking 10 staff there, at a cost of about £30,000, is a better investment.

In return chief executive John Assael says the company gets clear business benefits.

“We have won new clients there, like ING Bank, and we have reinforced relationships and refreshed relationships with people from developers and agents who may have moved companies,” he says.

But some come back from their first Mipim with little more than a hangover to show for their hefty investment. Assael gives his advice on how to maximise your return: “Our view is that the business is done in the bars, on places like the London stand. We go to all the London stand launches and we go to Bar Roma. Big cocktail parties are not where the business is done – you never seem to manage to bump into the right people. You need to be invited to dinners where you can have a decent conversation.”

But still, don’t forget to pack the Alka Seltzer.