Welcome to Mipim, the world’s largest real estate fair, which returned to Cannes this month. Picture an ocean of property developers in blue suits and puffy gilets thronging the French beachfront. Inside the convention centre, instead of salespeople fronting the booths, you’ll find politicians talking up their region’s heritage, sport teams, music scenes, universities and waterfronts, with glossy prospectuses to tempt global investors.
About one-quarter of Mipim attendees are from the UK, with every British banner and brochure focused on one thing: courting investors with the promise of growth. A billboard declares Manchester “The UK’s Growth Opportunity”. Another proclaims that in the Tees Valley, “Anything is Possible”. Newcastle’s CEO and director of investment and growth tell me how the city makes development “dead easy for investment”. But the question is: growth for whom?
