Takeaways from our first trip to MIPIM
After a few days at MIPIM 2023 our Managing Director, Angela, wanted to share her thoughts about the event.
Earlier this month I attended MIPIM in Cannes with my sister and co-owner Stephanie Mansell. As a first-timer, it has taken me a little while to gather my thoughts about our experiences and recover from the event.
MIPIM is considered one of the ‘must-attend’ events in our sector with delegates from across the world who view it as an opportunity to see what is happening in the built environment and property. We went to raise the profile of the Mansell Building Solutions after securing a place on the Offsite Homes Alliance (OSHA) Framework and saw it as a chance to raise our profile amongst the best the North has to offer.
So apart from walking over 90,000 steps and blisters on my feet the likes of which I’ve never had before what did Steph and I take away from MIPIM?
1. MIPIM was more diverse than we expected
Anyone who follows me knows how I feel about the men in suits that dominate our industry, so I was expecting us to be very much in the minority. The grey suits were blue and there were a few gilets thrown in for good measure, but there were more women than we anticipated.
We’d heard that MIPIM wasn’t a diverse event with mainly white men in attendance (and it still appears to mainly be attended by white delegates). That could be said about the property sector in general although it is improving. According to Place North West, ‘this year’s festival was viewed by many as the most diverse yet. Several commentators said that the number of female delegates in attendance was much higher than in previous years. The public sector is leading the way on this – just look at Manchester and Liverpool’s senior directorates – but the private sector is also seemingly getting its act together.’
The satirical MIPIM Lads Twitter account helped highlight the issues about gender representation at the event mocking the way MIPIM has been viewed for years as a ‘boys club’.
2. The North is a powerhouse of collaboration and innovation.
We bought passes to go into the event rather than just posting pictures from the fringe and I’m so glad we did. The openness of everyone on the northern stands – Manchester at MIPIM, Liverpool City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and Newcastle City Council was amazing and the importance of public and private sector partnerships was evident
We went in open-minded but the need for northern cities to unite and work together made me realise that the 36 miles between Manchester and Liverpool aren’t important. That football is our joint USP and not the tribal pastime I had believed it was.
“Hunting in packs” and “triple helix” were phrases I heard that resonated with me to make my north of England a better place to be and live and work.
The great characters and people in the public eye were ever-present raising the profile of the north. Tom Bloxham spoke about culture in our city and the iconic Factory International project which we are proud to say we’ve been a part of .
Gary Neville made some interesting points about the owners of Manchester City regenerating their part of the city. We agreed with him when he suggested that whoever buys United (fingers crossed it’s sooner rather than later) needs to do the same for regenerating the area around Old Trafford.
3. ESG or Social Value. Whatever it’s called, it’s about people
The focus on sustainability and ESG was a golden thread through the festival, and it’s being innovatively tackled in Salford a public and private sector partnership. Salford City Council and Muse have spent the last 15 years transforming brownfield sites in the city to create sustainable communities. Rather than thinking about individual projects they have a strategic plan that has created low-carbon offices and homes as well as 11,000 local jobs since their partnership started.
Their Eden office project which is built on the site of an old car park will have the largest living wall in Europe. The vegetation on the wall will filter the toxins from the relief road the building is situated on as well as create a habitat for pollination insects. The living wall will improve the thermal load of the building which has been designed to achieve net-zero operational carbon. Projects like Eden come about when there’s a clear strategic vision for long-term development that everyone buys into. It was inspiring to see it showcased on the world stage.
4. More funding coming Greater Manchester’s way
The Chancellor’s Spring Budget created a buzz at MIPIM and became a talking point at the Manchester stand. Local authority leaders welcomed greater devolution for the region. A single settlement from the government is on the horizon and the ability to tailor spending to needs in Greater Manchester. Most interesting to us was the £150m brownfield housing fund to build 7,000 homes and the new strategic oversight of the affordable homes programme which Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said will give the 10 local authorities flexibility.
What’s next after MIPIM?
MIPIM was crucial for us to create connections in our sector and our city, and we will return next year to further build our profile. In the meantime we will be at UKREiiF – The UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum in May in Leeds and Housing 23 in Manchester in June.
We’ll be at both events to talk about building much need housing in Greater Manchester using deconstructed volumetric so if you fancy a chat get in touch with either myself or Steph.