Organized by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona - CZFB (Barcelona Free Zone Consortium), Barcelona Meeting Point this year, with the participation of 265 participating companies (last year were 206) from 16 countries, occupied a gross area close to 22,000 m2 and had 17 sessions in its Symposium with 82 speakers of recognized international prestige.
The Minister of Development, Íñigo de la Serna, during a lunch with businessmen from the real estate sector, prior to the opening ceremony, reminded that the real estate sector is still one of the essential cornerstones of the Spanish economy, as "in this second quarter of the year the contribution of the real estate sector to GDP has reached 4.83% year-on-year ". De la Serna also announced that "rental and urban renewal are two of the main priorities of the Ministry of Development for the coming years, as it must be remembered that the Spanish rental rate is very far from the European average and the rehabilitation has great potential.”
The International Symposium of BMP wanted to give a special importance, this year, to affordable and rental housing. BMP, together with IESE, Urban Land Institute and Asociación de Promotores y Constructores de España - APCE (Association of Promoters and Builders of Spain), showed their awareness with this theme and dedicated a series of sessions to try to find solutions and alternatives.
The concept PropTech, the technology applied to the real estate sector, which affects from construction processes to the investment, financing, big data or home automation, among others, has also been a star theme of the show.
The investment of the Family Offices in analysis
The International Symposium of BMP also received the 4th edition of the Barcelona Funds Meeting, a special program that brought together the major international investment funds. The Family Offices, players who had been absent from the fair on other years, have been subjected to discussion. Was also held a session to understand the criteria used by large international funds to decide their investments, moderated by Dominique Moerenhout, CEO of EPRA International, with the participation of Ismael Clemente, CEO of Merlin Properties, Cristina García-Peri, General Manager of Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, Pere Viñolas, CEO of Colonial, and Hans Op't Veld, Head of Listed Real Estate at Zeist. Another session dedicated to the titans of real estate financing such as banking and investment funds.
Risk management, a differential element
Another of the contents of the Symposium that provoked great interest was "Risk management, a differential element for the success in real estate investment and promotion", organized by BMP, together with the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the European Institute of Risk Management. This session, moderated by Javier Martín, director of Observatorio Inmobiliario, was attended by Ricardo Martí-Fluxá, President of ACI (Association of Real Estate Consultants); José Carlos Sanz, General Director of Operations of Neinor Homes and Javier Amenedo and Ricardo Antuña, CEO and President, respectively, of Veltis Rating, the first real estate rating agency.
Spain and Portugal, now as fashion countries
Iberian.Property also organized the session "Spain and Portugal: the most fashionable countries in European real estate?". This interesting panel was moderated by Antonio Gil Machado, Director of Iberian.Property, and it was attended by Emanuele Dubini, consultant at FREO; Hermann Montenegro, CEO of AXA Real Estate Ibérica; Borja Ortega, Director of Capital Markets of JLL Spain; Pedro Coelho, CEO of Square AM; Emilio Sánchez, CEO of Iberdrola Inmobiliaria, Juan Velayos, CEO of Neinor Homes; Consuelo Villanueva, Director of Institutions & Large Accounts. Business Development at Sociedad de Tasación, and Jorge Pérez de Leza, CEO of Metrovacesa.