Tangible results for island at world's largest property expo

A delegation from the island, including representatives from EY, Babbe, Collas Crill and Orangefield Legis, were present for the world's largest property expo alongside 21,000 others with an interest in the global real estate market.

Peter Miller, executive director at EY and the Channel Islands representative for the firm at the event, said that there was a lot of positive sentiment towards the real estate investment market and the quality of Guernsey's offering as an international finance centre and its role in the real estate market.

'Mipim is a landmark event and is an invaluable opportunity for us to promote Guernsey's position to key industry figures,' he said.

'There was a great response to our presence, with a good number of enquiries and some tangible results, including the closing of a deal that began at last year's event. There was a general sense that Guernsey has a favourable reputation in the industry. Feedback from attendees at the stand suggested the island is renowned for its quality of service providers and the consistency of service, the unusually high proportion of knowledgeable and talented practitioners and the ability to provide all services at this level is where this appeal draws from.'

Mipim 2015's conference programme focused on a number of topical themes including disruptive technologies, smart cities and crowdfunding.

The key conclusions of the event, however, remained more traditional, outlining general trends in the market and key geographies for investment.

'The market is strong, with more activity and a greater risk appetite.

'There was definite positivity for the market and this will reflect favourably on the Channel Islands,' said Mr Miller.