Edwards Gibson Logo Informed Connections
+44 (0) 20 7153 4903
Back to list »

Real Estate lawyers - beware the £1,000 fish, and the true meaning of MIPIM … (literally)

Download the PDF of this article here >>

14th March 2023

Written by Scott Gibson

Delighted to be back for MIPIM in sunny Cannes after a two-year covid-induced absence.

As I was leaving the house yesterday with my suitcase, my youngest son asked me where I was going. I replied – “I’m off to MIPIM” – (for the unschooled, a real estate industry junket in Cannes which is nearly as popular with lawyers as it is with real estate folks) and he replied, “is that the £1000 fish place?” … not quite, but my now-teenage son was referring to a story (famous in my house at least) for a trip I took to MIPIM some years back…

After interminable travel delays, I arrived at my accommodation, just outside Cannes – late. Having missed my dinner booking, I hurried out for an impromptu supper with a client at a charming, but otherwise unremarkable, waterside eatery. Mindful of MIPIM’s historic reputation as being something akin to a weeklong hedonistic frat party, I was determined to start the week healthily – so I ordered “poisson du jour”, which even my schoolboy French informed me was “fish of the day”. I am not sure what species of fish I ordered – I remember it being white, flaky and truly delicious. Of course, in true Gallic culinary tradition, it was smothered in butter – so I am doubtful that my pescatarian dinner choice provided quite the low-calorie, low cholesterol start to the week I had envisaged. Still, it was an excellent meal – good food, good wine, good company and by the end, I was even getting over the post-traumatic stress of my fraught journey.

I can’t remember what the total bill came to, but I do remember that my single poisson du jour, which did not include any sides, was €260 (at the time just under US$300) – and that was back in the days when US$300 was a lot of money for a fish! Entirely my fault of course – the fish was priced per gram in Euros. The sort of thing that, if I was on holiday in Greece, and if it was lobster, I might have spotted through some basic mental arithmetic …

What’s interesting is that, whilst in my household “MIPIM” clearly means “The £1000 fish place”, in all the years I have been coming to Cannes I have yet to meet a single attendee who knows what the acronym “MIPIM” stands for. Whilst it is true that my own MIPIM clique consists almost exclusively of English-speaking lawyers, I have often spoken to German, Dutch and French non-lawyer attendees and, after a few wide off the mark guesses, they invariably admit to being just as baffled!

… So, the answer to the question you didn’t know you cared about, and which I confidently predict will be of zero practical use to you (whether you are a lawyer, real estate type, or otherwise), is…

... Le Marché International des Professionnels de L’immobilier

Who knew!
 
To read Scott’s original LinkedIn post on this, click here.

Download the PDF of this article here >>

Archived Articles

What we do

Partner representation

Team moves

In-house

Retained Search

Search Live Roles

Publications

Partner moves

Articles

News & Events

Our placement history

Meet the team

Contact Us