The ULI Greece & Cyprus Young Leaders Group organised an informal networking event with Alex Arvalis, Associate Partner at Knight Frank Dubai, on Wednesday, 13 September at Borsalino Bar in Athens. Attendees networked with fellow industry professionals and met and exchanged experiences, views, and knowledge with Arvalis.

Arvalis is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor (MRICS) with 10+ years of experience in Europe and the Middle East. He is experienced in valuing mixed use development schemes, master plans, leisure and entertainment properties, specialized assets, and large property portfolios. He has been based in the UAE for the past 5 years and is responsible for KF valuation projects in the KSA.

Alex is also a RICS VRS Registered Valuer, a trained RICS Counsellor and a trained RICS Assessor.

The following topics, among others, were discussed:

• the impact of the development of mixed use schemes in the local real estate market
• the development of free zones and clusters as an accelerator to economic growth (Dubai has a number of free zones such as the DIFC, Media City, Design District, etc. which offer different investment incentives)
• the development of property regulatory framework in developing economies

Attendees included real estate developers, operators, agents, managers, planners, architects, engineers, builders, lawyers, and members of the public sector.

Though the Young Leaders Group is targeted for those under the age of 35, real estate professionals of all ages attended.