Technology trends, urban planning and global socio-political events are some of the key themes on the agenda at the annual conference of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) which takes place in London on 5-7 September.
EPRA says it has put together a programme with four specialist speakers ‘to inspire delegates on the short to medium term possibilities’ and give them the opportunity ‘to rethink how to better face an uncertain future’.
The three-day event will kick off with a morning of property tours in London, followed on day two by the main conference programme with keynote speeches and dinner, and culminating on the last day with company pitches to investors.
Stanford University professor Niall Ferguson, known for his political commentary and academic work as an economic and international historian, will take the stage on the opening day with a speech on global socio-political events, followed by a Q&A session.
William Wheaton, professor at MIT’s Center for Real Estate, will address the conference later in the day on global urban planning and the economics of real estate. A member of the MIT faculty since 1972, Wheaton helped to develop the field of urban economics by pioneering the theory of how land, location, and housing markets jointly operate. He also specialises in the problems of urban infrastructure and local government finance.
Technology entrepreneur Salim Ismail, who built and sold his company to Google, was a founding director of the Singularity University and is the best-selling author of Exponential Organizations, will close the morning session with a keynote speech on how tech trends are affecting the real estate sector. Interviews will also be held during lunch with Robert Noel, CEO of LandSec, the UK’s largest property investment and development company, and David Sleath, CEO of logistics REIT Segro. The closing speech on the second day comes from Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015.
The third day of the conference will be devoted to ‘Investor Day’, a full day of company speed pitches to potential investors. Participants include NewRiver REIT, Xior and GCP Student Housing, Buwog, Aedes, Castellum, NSI, Hamborner REIT, Hispania REIT and Merlin Properties.
The EPRA conference will be held at the Landmark London (pictured), which opened in 1899 and is one of London’s most iconic hotels.
