My MIPIM: David Mann

By TFT

David Mann, Partner at TFT, tells us what he would like to see in Cannes this year and how he hopes diversity will drive this year’s crowds.

What has changed the most in your work/industry view, since MIPIM 2018?

In reality very little, we remain busy! However, our clients are more risk-averse than ever which means our technical due diligence on acquisition of existing assets or monitoring of new developments is even more important.

What would you like to see more of at MIPIM 2019?

The ‘elephant in the room’ campaign (pink elephant badges) last year was very clever. This in response to the spotlight being shone on our industry (post-Presidents’ Club) for unacceptable behaviour by a minority, as well as a lack of diversity across the board. I suspect many businesses will be more considerate of this when looking at the team they send to MIPIM this year.

For instance, we are expecting circa 100 members of Freehold to be in Cannes this year.

Freehold is a networking forum for LGBTQ real estate professionals, co-founded by David.

What would you most like to talk about at MIPIM?

I’d like to talk about risk mitigation in a risky world, building trusted relationships and improving the reputation and desirability of our industry for the next generation seeking out their career paths.

Relating to this, I’d like to focus on normality post-Brexit and the huge power for good that the Property Industry represents. More than ever we are putting corporate social responsibility and improving local communities at the forefront of what we do, so I want to help push that forwards.

Is Proptech going to set the agenda this year? Do you think that it should?

From a building surveyor’s perspective, no, but it will be interesting to see if there are any exhibitors offering new software/hardware.

What should every MIPIM first-timer do, or not do?  

I am currently helping a friend of mine who is a ‘first-timer’ – I have told them to treat it very much as an initial fact-finding experience to build on in future years. Try not to lose your head, pace yourself and don’t expect immediate results, it’s all about the follow up post-MIPIM!