27 Nov 2024

On Tuesday 26 November, the much-anticipated Jersey Vision Event, proudly sponsored by Mourant, made its debut at The Royal Yacht, in St Helier. 

The breakfast event brought together industry professionals, thought leaders, and key players from the real estate and investment sectors to discuss the economic outlook and pivotal market trends for 2025.

The event began with a lively networking session over coffee and a light breakfast.  This was followed by a short presentation from AREF's CEO, Paul Richards about AREF.  Next was a keynote presentation by Mark Clacy-Jones, Head of Real Estate Strategy at Abrdn and Chair of AREF's Research Committee. Mark shared a wealth of knowledge and delivered optimistic market predictions, painting a compelling picture of how 2025 could offer more favorable opportunities compared to other key global investment regions, such as Europe, the US, and APAC.

Next up was the panel discussion moderated by Ben Robins, Partner at Mourant. The panel brought together an impressive lineup of experts:

Mark Clacy-Jones, Head of Real Estate Strategy at Abrdn

Alex Notay, Chair of the RBT Housing Commission

Paul Richards, CEO of AREF

Simon Vardon, Jersey-based Real Assets Specialist

The conversation explored a range of critical topics, from navigating market challenges to leveraging emerging opportunities in the real estate sector. Highlights included:

  • Alex Notay’s insights on balancing environmental policy with real-world implementation, particularly in the social housing space.
  • Simon Vardon’s analysis of Jersey’s growing role as a preferred jurisdiction for structuring UK REITs, QAHCs, and JPUTs.
  • Paul Richards’ acknowledgment of Jersey’s pivotal position within the global real estate fund structuring ecosystem.

The audience engaged actively, with an interactive Q&A session fostering deeper discussions on these themes.

What’s Next?

For those who couldn’t attend, Mourant is preparing a detailed event summary that will distill the key takeaways, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all the speakers, panelists, and attendees who made this event such a success. Special appreciation goes to Mourant for their sponsorship and to Ben Robins for expertly facilitating the discussions.

Here’s to an even brighter and more collaborative 2025 for the real estate industry!

Materials:

Download Mourant's Summary of the event here.

Download the Slides (Members-only)

 

Proudly sponsored by:

 

Author

Clare Whyte

Clare Whyte

Head of Marketing & Events, AREF

Clare is responsible for all aspects of the planning, development and execution of the marketing strategy for AREF. 

Clare leads on event management, liaising with committees and members to schedule, plan and deliver an effective events calendar for the association.  She also has overall responsibility for brand, as well as the design, development and production of marketing across both digital and offline channels, including the website.