It was a whirlwind 36 hours at MIPIM 2023 for the London Property Alliance, which saw our popular Global Cities Survey generate positive headlines on London’s future growth projections in EG(£) and Property Week(£).
The latest data, provided by our research partners at Centre for London, shows the capital holding its own against New York, Paris, Berlin and Hong Kong across a range of economic indices. But when it comes to economic growth Inner London is leading the pack according to new projections from Oxford Economics. See the data here.
As it basks in the glow of the 2024 Olympics, Paris will surge ahead before London retains its top spot by 2030. Until then it is set to be a bit of a bumpy ride, which is why MIPIM is so useful to learn from our international competitor cities, as well as engage with politicians and policy makers.
In a London Stand breakfast seminar our Chief Economic Advisor Alexander Jan provided an overview of our survey as an expert panel sought to make sense of it all.
The City Corporation’s Policy Chair Chris Hayward was bullish on the Square Mile’s prospects, and indeed that day’s City AM reported on the 30 per cent surge in planning applications alongside 370,000 square metres of recently consented office space. Chris was quick to point out that the death of the office could not be further from the truth for the City.
Melissa Román Burch, the COO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, was equally optimistic on the Big Apple’s prospects, which is rapidly evolving to accommodate more mixed uses and, after years of neglect, upgrading its transport infrastructure with a major revamp earmarked for Manhattan’s Penn St station.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Andrew Hawkins put some of Paris’ and Berlin’s relative strengths down to the more compact nature of their cities, as well as a degree of denial in their markets about the long-term structural changes to the way we work on pricing. As Alex Jan pithily put it, ‘New York and London are quick to bring out their dead’. A point reflected by the steep changes in data for both cities. Although Hong Kong’s sudden easing of Covid restrictions has seen its figures dramatically soar.
Laura Citron, London & Partners’ Chief Executive, helped to encapsulate a truly engaging and insightful discussion by extolling the virtues of #Opportunity London, an excellent initiative which has seen the Mayor of London, London Councils and the City of London Corporation come together to make the case for the capital to international investors.
It was under the banner of #Opportunity London that London Property Alliance was proud to lend its support to a gathering of city leaders, civil servants and investors in an event sponsored by Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) operating across the City and West End, EC BID and London Heritage Quarter.
We were delighted to be joined by all those who took part in our London Property Alliance breakfast seminar, alongside West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, the Deputy Mayors for London and Manchester, Jules Pipe CBE and Paul Dennett, London Councils’ representatives Elizabeth Campbell and Darren Rodwell, Shravan Joshi, the City Corporation’s Chair of Planning and Transportation, and many others.
