Three days of intensive work at the main Italian event, dedicated to the real estate sector – where we participated again this year with a stand – the only one dedicated exclusively to the Czech Republic and Slovakia markets, sponsored by the Municipality of Prague and Bratislava. An important occasion to consolidate relationships, to start up new business relations, present one’s own professionalism and projects, learn about new opportunities, face new market trends and attract investors. A number of Ideas, reflections and opportunities shared with our partners Crestyl, CTP, Deloitte and Tecnocasa.
This – our second participation at EIRE – Expo Italia Real Estate – held at Fiera Milano from 7th to 9th June, has definitively confirmed the positive impressions we had received last year. It could not be otherwise, in view of the massive participation from the main players of the sector: from real estate funds to real estate development companies, construction firms and major retail companies. Just to cite a few figures: 35,000 square meters of exhibition space, 473 companies and institutions present, 13,000 professionals from approximately 50 countries and 326 accredited journalists.
However, a few absences were noticed, as was the case last year – that of banks and a few institutional investors. The impression was that the real players consisted of private investors, who had come to EIRE to play their cards during the b2b meetings.
Unquestionable, also the highly international connotation of the event, with a significant representation of new realities in the housing market: Brazil, Macedonia and other countries of former Yugoslavia, just to mention a few. There were also many ministerial stands, such as that of the ministries for the development of emerging Countries, except for the Russian Federation, which did not participate.
Another significant attribute of the event is the fact that it was organized not only to be restricted to a three-day exposition, but thanks to its network, also to continue its activity throughout the year.
Of high profile were also the number of conferences on the most current topics, ranging from finance, to social housing and logistics, including renewable sources, hotel-tourism, facility management, professions and construction systems, universities and public administrations, surrounded by an atmosphere of liveliness and optimism.
All things considered, three very intense days of work.
The reasons why we went back
One of the main reasons for participating at Eire 2011 was our desire to know whether last year’s optimism would actually prelude to a recovery of the real estate sector in Italy and Europe.
The results of other Real Estate Fairs in Europe in recent months have actually been subject to highs and lows. Exceptional was the MIPIM in Cannes, but with poor results in terms of quality of players and projects on display. Signs of recovery from Expo Real in Munich, with significant numbers in terms of visitors and exhibitors. However, to be forgotten is the Real Vienna event that focused on the “New Europe” markets.
As last year, there was also our determination to send a clear signal to investors, an invitation to look to the future with confidence, to be able to grasp the opportunities that countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia can still offer, in a highly developed real estate market.
The IBC Stand at this year’s edition of Eire, that represented not only the Czech Republic but also Slovakia, distinguished itself for its high professionalism. IBC is a group of integrated services that, in the real estate sector, can put in place the expertise of Ponte Carlo, a company that has been operating since 1993 in the real estate market in Eastern Europe, particularly, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. At Eire, we were able to bring together under the same roof, partners such as Crestyl, Ctp, Deloitte and Tecnocasa: international players, active in various sectors, but united by the fact that they have all developed their own operational structure in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Achievements
The achievements were summarized by Giovanni Piazzini Albani, the founder of the Italian Business Center: “Even this edition has confirmed that participating at Eire is primarily an investment in knowledge, a vital added value for a company, especially at a time like this, when investments are made with great care and caution”. In the course of the evening, Piazzini Albani received a special award, assigned to the city of Bratislava for the concern shown towards energy saving and green building technologies for a number of real estate projects.
“During the meetings that took place in our exhibition area, we realized how much investors still appreciate the economic stability of countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, despite the difficult moment that the “construction” industry is undergoing at international level”, declared Vincenzo De Blasio, CEO of Czech Republic Tecnocasa.
In actual fact, the operators of the sector have all unanimously become aware of the great opportunities offered by Central European markets, which in this particular phase, are much more stable and profitable than many of those from the “Old Europe “, which are often in stand-by and hampered in their attempt at dealing with financial recovery.
The same satisfaction that we noticed from our partners who came with us on this Milan mission.
“EIRE 2011 was an inspirational event that opened us the doors to the market, promising us new opportunities, mainly in the field of real estate investors interested to invest in the Central European region” said Filip Endal, real estate specialist for Deloitte. “It was a great chance to make a presentation of the Czech & Slovak Republic through joint teams of representatives from different companies and sectors, which together provide a comprehensive view of the real estate market in both countries”.
On the same wavelength is Brent Watkins, director of Deloitte’s Real Estate Advisory Team: “This was my first participation at EIRE and I was impressed at the organization and professional exposition, as well as for the interesting themes and optimism amongst Italian participants. I am sure that we managed to make good relations and will follow up on the interest that Italian groups have for activity in Central Europe”.
Significant was also the opinion expressed by Paul Deverell, business director of CTP Invest, a first class company involved in the development of commercial and industrial sectors, as shown by the recent investments in the Czech Republic on the part of Italian Companies such as Brembo and ITT: “For CTP I believe the EIRE event was worthwhile. As a large industrial property developer we have quite recently developed modern manufacturing plants in the Czech Republic for companies from Italy. We see further opportunities for Italian manufacturers in the Czech Republic and therefore we attended EIRE. We would like to participate in future EIRE events and look forward to further cooperation“.
By Paolo Massariolo
Managing Director of Ponte Carlo Group