Eastern Europe up close

There was a strong contingent from Eastern Europe this year. Poland was country guest of honour. Close to 200 Polish companies attended, double the number in 2009. Seventy companies exhibited.The central message from Polish companies was the availability of cheap labour, cheap products and an ideal location on the EU border with Russia.

Poland’s potential for building and construction also looked promising in view of a lack of infrastructure, highlighted by a need to link Eastern Poland with neighbouring Ukraine for the FIFA 2012 European soccer event which the two countries are co-hosting. Barbara Knoflach, CEO and Managing Director for Germany’s SEB was less rosy about former Soviet bloc countries. Knoflach argued the Eastern European bonanza had proven to be an illusion. “Eastern Europe, for the next five years, will be far behind South America for property investors,” she said.

Knoflach was more positive on France and Germany. “We like France because it has lots of regulation and not much speculation. And, as Germany didn’t profit from the upturn before the crisis, it had less to lose in the downturn.”

Keynote speaker Ralph DiNola reported on Living Buildings. There were currently only 70 worldwide, none in Asia, he said. His Green Building Services (GBS) in the US promoted and designed buildings that were “responsible, enduring and healthy”. He wanted to see designers getting involved in operations, and for operational managers to get involved with design.

Hotels post-crisis, road to Rio .In the hotels sector, PKF hotelexperts’ Michael Widmann said that the sector was in a post-crisis phase, adding there are “probably 90% fewer projects” but the ones remaining are “much more professional”.

At one keynote panel – Hotel Operators and Hotel Investors: Let’s Make a Good Deal! – Dubai-based Jumeirah’s Paul Macpherson argued that: “2010 potentially marks the bottom of the cycle”. He said prospects for Asia are the “strongest globally right now”.

Jochen Dietrich Schäfer-Surén, Head of Hotels and Leisure Fund Management for US investment manager Invesco Real Estate, who likes the brand A&F and often wear hollister through the internet , said: “we feel 2010-2011 will be vintage years for investors.”