Live updates: Coronavirus fears lead to Mipim exodus

Update: UK city stands say implications of postponement will take “a few days” to emerge

The organisers of the London and Manchester stands at Mipim have spoken out in the wake of Reed MIDEM deciding to postpone the conference. 

London at Mipim said that it is in contact with Reed Midem to “fully understand the implications of this decision for the London stand and for our clients - and expect full information around this to take a few days to emerge”.

It also flagged up the fact in the hours after Reed announced its plan to postpone the event, the French government issued a ban on gatherings of 5,000 or more people.

Marketing Manchester, wich runs the adjacent stand for the North West city, distributed a statement from Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese.

He said: “Whilst we are undoubtably disappointed about the postponement of MIPIM, owing to the huge amount of work and planning that we always put in to make the Manchester Pavilion an informative and effective business destination within the overall MIPIM programme, it is absolutely the right decision given how things currently stand.”

He added: “We are fully committed to our international strategy and will do everything we can to continue our momentum. In the meantime I ask that you please adhere to the values of the Manchester at MIPIM Partnership and support the delivery team at Marketing Manchester as they deal with the important task of mitigating the impact of postponement.”

Reed MIDEM postpones Mipim 2020

Mipim organiser Reed MIDEM has postponed next month’s event until June. 

In a statement earlier this afternoon, chief executive Paul Zilk said: “The well-being of our clients and staff is our priority. Given the evolving context, the best course of action is to postpone MIPIM to June.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We believe these new dates will provide the international MIPIM community with the opportunity to achieve their business objectives. We are grateful to our clients for their support and constructive input during this challenging period, and we look forward to talking with them in the coming days about MIPIM in June.” 

BNP Paribas Real Estate abandons Mipim

French agent BNP Paribas Real Estate said on Friday it will “withdraw” its attendance from Mipim.

“As a result of the global concern related to the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, we have decided to reconsider our attendance at international events and withdraw from Mipim,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

”This difficult decision is a precautionary measure founded on our commitment to putting the safety of our employees, clients, and partners first. In these difficult circumstances, we wish to express our solidarity with those affected.

We would also like to express our support for the businesses in the Cannes region who make this event a success every year.” 

Lambert Smith Hampton pulls out

Commercial property agency Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has pulled out of Mipim.

Ezra Nahome, chief executive at LSH, said: ”We have decided in light of the understandable concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that LSH will not be attending MIPIM this year. Whilst this is disappointing the health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and clients comes first at all times.”

Prologis backs out

The logistics giant said: “The safety and wellbeing of our employees and their families is our main priority and always at the forefront of our considerations.

”Regrettably, due to the ongoing spread of coronavirus cases in Europe, we have decided to withdraw from attending MIPIM this year.”

First case of coronavirus in Cote d’Azur

The first case of the virus has been reported in the Cote d’Azur. According to French media, a fashion student from Cannes has tested positive for Covid-19 and is being cared for in a hospital in Nice.

JLL and Carter Jonas won’t be attending 

JLL has joined the growing numbers of agencies to announce it will not be attending Mipim. 

It said: ”After careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw from Mipim to ensure we can continue to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees and clients.”

Agent Carter Jonas also confirmed to Property Week that it also won’t be going to Mipim.

Mipim organisers insist event still going ahead 

The organisers of Mipim have insisted that the event will still go ahead despite the fact that many of the biggest global real estate firms have withdrawn from the event. 

”Firstly, we extend our best wishes to those clients who have made the very difficult decision to not attend MIPIM 2020. We do not underestimate how challenging this decision has been for them. They are long-standing members of the MIPIM family and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2021.

“However, whilst we appreciate the situation is continually evolving, as of today more than 90% of companies remain committed to attend MIPIM. Therefore, we re-confirm that MIPIM will run as scheduled on 10-13 March. 

“Our decision is based on current facts and guidance from local, national and international authorities including the World Health Organization. There is no travel ban in place across France, and France and Cannes are not identified as areas of concern. 

“We are pleased to confirm that our programme of content remains inspiring with major keynotes and senior figures including mayors, political leaders and key stakeholders from the real estate industry. Investor participation continues to be strong with many reaffirming their support.

“MIPIM will have a dedicated medical team in place in Cannes and will be working with the city and health authorities to ensure that any delegate will have access to full medical treatment and guidance in the unlikely event that it is required.

”We look forward to welcoming participants and we remain committed to ensuring that all MIPIM attendees have a safe and productive stay in Cannes.” 

CBRE withdraws from Mipim and reviews attendance at other events  

CBRE has pulled out of Mipim and said it would review attendance at other events. 

“With the safety and wellbeing of our people at the forefront of our considerations, we have decided to withdraw CBRE’s attendance at MIPIM this year, in light of the confirmed cases of coronavirus in Continental Europe. 

“We continue to monitor and assess our attendance at all upcoming events and associated travel.”

Avison Young pulls out 

Avison Young has decided to withdraw from both MIPIM and the International Hospitality Investment Forum in Berlin, which is due to take place next week. 

It said: ”As responsible global citizens, we believe we have a duty to support the World Health Organisation’s containment objectives, and to be mindful of the potential impact on wider communities beyond our immediate network. 

”We are a people-first company and have taken this decision to protect our staff, our families and our wider communities.”

Gerald Eve attending with a reduced team

Gerald Eve has said it does not currently have plans to pull out of Mipim but that some of its UK-facing team members have opted not to attend. 

A source told Property Week that while the business didn’t currently have an “official stance” on its attendance, employees had been given the option of staying in the UK if they wished. At the time of writing, staff that work with international teams were still planning to attend the event to meet with their colleagues from other countries.

EY confirms it won’t be at Mipim 

One of the world’s largest professional services firms, EY, has confirmed to Property Week that it will not be attending Mipim this year.

“After much consideration, EY has made the difficult decision to withdraw its participation in Mipim due to concerns about the current outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus),” said an EY spokesperson in a statement. ”As longstanding supporters of this flagship event, the EY decision was not made without serious deliberation. Yet, the precautionary measures that will ensure the safety and wellbeing of EY people remains our primary concern. We continue to closely monitor the situation. Our thoughts are with those impacted by the Coronavirus.”

Manchester stand at Mipim 

Marketing Manchester, which runs the city’s stand and programme of events at Mipim, said it is monitoring the evolving situation. 

A Marketing Manchester spokesperson said: “Marketing Manchester is continuing to monitor the potential impact that COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, may have on MIPIM 2020.

“Marketing Manchester is in contact with organisers Reed Midem who, in turn, are following guidance and advice from local, national and international authorities including the World Health Organisation as it relates to travel to MIPIM.

“The safety and welfare of the Manchester at MIPIM partnership is our priority. At this present time, Reed Midem have published a statement confirming that the event will go ahead as planned. To this end, a series of additional measures have been put in place by the organisers to ensure the health and welfare of delegates to MIPIM.

“We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and communicate accordingly with partners and delegates.” 

L&G bans employee travel

L&G Investment Management has confirmed it will not be sending staff to Mipim. The business has halted travel across the business for a month. 

A statement from the business said: “The health and wellbeing of our employees, clients and customers has always been our priority. With the numbers of coronavirus cases now growing quickly across the globe, including further cases confirmed in Europe, the UK and US, we feel that taking the decision to suspend all international business travel over the near term is the right thing to do.  We will review this situation daily, and adapt the advice and approach accordingly.”

Savills pulls from Mipim

Savills will no longer be attending Mipim the agent has confirmed.

In a statement, the agent cited the growing global concern about the virus in the past week and the fact that Mipim has “many thousands of people travelling from multiple countries across the world” as reasons for the decision.

“Due to the scale and size of this conference, and the importance of the event to our industry, this decision has not been taken lightly,” said Mark Ridley, chief executive of Savills Group and Global. He added that ”our absolute priority is the welfare of our staff as well as avoiding any service disruption to or clients in light of increased coronavirus cases across Europe.”

Lloyds Banking Group adds to the growing list of Mipim withdrawals

Joining a growing list of big-name property firms, banker Lloyds has said that it also will not be attending Mipim.

A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group said: “We have taken the prudent and precautionary step to cancel our attendance at this year’s MIPIM. This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but the health and well-being of our colleagues and clients is of paramount consideration. In the light of concerns around the increasing number of Coronavirus cases now occurring in Europe, we now feel it poses too great a risk to our own colleagues’ health to attend. We have had a long-standing presence at MIPIM and we look forward to returning to future years’ events.” 

Mipim issues statement

A Mipim spokesperson has said that despite some withdrawals from the event it will continue as planned.

“Mipim will open for business on March 10. We understand and respect the concerns of clients who have decided to cancel their attendance. In the rapidly-evolving environment, we are monitoring developments continually. The health and safety of our clients and staff is our priority.”

Grosvenor pulls out of Mipim

Property investor Grosvenor has pulled out of Mipim. It declined to comment upon request from Property Week.

Landsec and PGIM cancel Mipim attendance

Landsec has confirmed to Property Week that the half dozen employees that were scheduled to go to Mipim will not be attending. Asset manager PGIM Real Estate is also understood to be pulling out of the event. Landsec declined to comment.

A PGIM Real Estate spokesperson said that ”due to the ongoing spread of the Coronavirus, PGIM Real Estate has taken the difficult decision that it will not attend MIPIM this year. The health and wellbeing of our employees is, and always will be, our utmost priority.”

Knight Frank pull out of Mipim

Property Week understands that Knight Frank emailed staff this morning to confirm it would not be attending the conference in Cannes this year, which is due to take place from 10 to 13 March. 

The decision comes less than 24 hours after Cushman & Wakefield confirmed it would not be attending the event this year. 

A statement from the agency said: “The evolving nature of COVID-19 in Europe has forced us to reconsider our presence at large multi-national events. To that end, we will no longer be attending MIPIM. The health and security of our people and clients are of utmost importance and have to be prioritised over all else.”

In an email to delegates earlier this week, event organiser Reed MIDEM insisted it was still “business as usual” for the event, which has around 27,000 people signed up from around the world.

C&W withdraw from Mipim

Agent Cushman & Wakefield confirmed to Property Week on Wednesday night that employees would not be attending Mipim 2020 because of growing concerns around coronavirus.

The company issued a statement that said: “The health and safety of our employees and our clients is our priority. With the rapidly increasing number of cases of coronavirus in Europe and the elevated industry-wide concern around attendance at large multi-national events, we have decided to withdraw from Mipim.”