mipim
NEWS Brexit uncertainty boosts MIPIM’s value to British
UK’s EU exit could lead to closer ties with Asia
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NCERTAINTY over Brexit in the wake of last year’s referendum means that UK companies need to travel to MIPIM “more than ever”, a British structural engineer has said. Symmetrys’ business development and bids manager Jo Shepherd said that maintaining contact with international developers and investors was crucial as the process of negotiating the UK’s exit from Europe unfolds. Shepherd said: “Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen in the future. We are at the point where we can’t not be at MIPIM. Over the past two years, we’ve really focused on it as an opportunity and, now that Brexit is coming, we need to be here more than ever.” London-based Symmetrys operates predominantly in the south
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HE UK’s departure from the European Union could lead to the country being more reliant on Asian and non-EU investment, the chief executive of one the country’s largest city authorities has said. Speaking at a special debate on the fallout from last year’s referendum on Europe, Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said that, rather than harming interest from countries such as China, the Brexit vote could lead to more Asian investment in future. Speaking to delegates at the Brexit: Who Benefits? panel, Bernstein said the UK should expect to do more business with Far-Eastern markets, which “tend to look at things on more of a long-term basis”, once it
Symmetrys’ Jo Shepherd: “We need to be here more than ever”
east of England, but has a track record of projects throughout the UK and overseas. The company, which offers consultancy and advice from the earliest stage of projects, including ‘stage zero’, is in Cannes to connect with potential new clients from a range of sectors and markets. Shepherd added that Symmetrys sees particularly growth potential in residential developments, particularly the student-housing and senior-living sectors.
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had left the EU. But Bernstein added that, while the priority was to secure the best possible outcome for the UK, he was afraid that on the whole he could not see “any major beneficiaries from Brexit”. Also speaking on the panel was Jules Pipe, deputy mayor of London, who said that the complications over the future of the Republic of Ireland’s border with Northern Ireland “illustrate what a ridiculous situation the UK is walking into”. He added: “It’s terribly sad to reintroduce the borders that everyone worked so hard to get rid of.” The debate also covered the potential departure of Londonbased businesses in the wake of Brexit, and the likelihood of further nations exiting the European Union.
BNL-BNP Paribas new headquarters Rome, Italy An offices building. The headquarters of an international bank. A complex that is responsible and brings a generous vision for the future. A piece of glass made of textures, rhythms, sequences, scenes, able to translate the daily life of 3.300 employees in a journey that is both urban, personal, intimate and collective. A new building that represents the futurism and the affirmation of the present by creating a strong relation with the surrounding environment thanks to 30.000 square meters of glass and ceramics facades that reflect the changing light of the city of Rome. The design of the new headquarters of BNL-BNP Paribas is particular, innovative, unique.
© Luc Boegly
235 meters in length - 50 meters in height 12 floors - 4 underground levels 43.800 sqm of commercial property 30.000 sqm of glass and ceramics façades 3.300 employees November 2016
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