The theme of this year’s MIPIM – Engaging the Future – has never felt more apt. UK delegates travel to MIPIM at a time of uncertainty – our place in the world order is being redefined and with it our relationships with partners around the world. At home, long-standing political coalitions embodied in our political parties are starting to fray as they are challenged by these questions.
But despite short-term uncertainty, the UK – one of the world’s most sophisticated, transparent and competitive economies – remains a great place to invest, with a world-leading real estate sector. MIPIM affords us an invaluable opportunity to present a unified, positive vision of what a global Britain has to offer on the international stage and the BPF is proud again to be the official partner of the UK government at MIPIM, showcasing the best of UK real estate.
Real estate itself, of course, stands at a time of tremendous challenge and opportunity, needing to respond to a huge range of societal challenges and change, from the rise of the “gig economy” to an ageing population, and from the ever-more pressing need to respond to climate change to the reinvention of the retail sector and of our high streets and town centres. We must embrace these changes as an industry.
Digital transformation of the real estate sector will be fundamental to future success, and leading in this space will become a key market differentiator on a global stage.
Last year, with the Future Cities Catapult the BPF published a report, Lost in Translation about how the adoption of technology could drive productivity benefits in real estate. Our technology and innovation working group will shortly be publishing a further report, Leading the Digital Transformation of Global Real Estate, commissioned from Liquid REI, examining the UK proptech market, how it is positioned globally and what is needed for the UK to capture and maintain the lead in this space.
The UK is working from a strong base, and indeed we have long been a trailblazer in technology and innovation. The BBC’s crowning of Alan Turing, a Bletchley Park code-breaker and leading figure in the development of computer science and AI, as the most iconic global figure of the 20th century bears testament to this (even if they failed to give due recognition to the fact that he was standing on the shoulders of Ada Lovelace a century before).
Our new report’s recommendations fall into three main groups. First, we need to get the foundations right. In the UK many, such as property market transparency and data infrastructure, are already in place, but there needs to be further visibility of market-wide initiatives, greater awareness and alignment of standards, and we need to ensure that employees have the necessary skills to thrive in the future.
Second, we need a joined-up approach – within government, within a diverse real estate sector, and between the two and other key players, such as academia. This will bring greater coordination and a more outcome-focused approach to the varied public sector initiatives that impact on real estate, and those initiatives within industry that have often focused on specific types of property or individual stages of the property lifecycle.
And third, we need a greater emphasis on research and development. Industry, government and academic institutions must work together to provide a catalyst for new ideas, drive adoption and build the business cases for continued investment into R&D.
Technology and property are very different worlds, often moving to different beats. As these two worlds come together, we must make sure that we have the culture, the environment and the policies in place to harness the benefits. I expect to hear these issues, and many more, debated at MIPIM and throughout the year. To quote (or possibly misquote) Alan Turing: we can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.
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