Some 5,500 delegates had registered by mid afternoon on the first day of the retail property show in Cannes, France, compared to 5,000 for the whole of last year's event. This makes it about a third the size of office and industrial show MIPIM.

Like the dawn chorus which advertises the birds that survived the night, the hubbub in the Palais des Festivals is louder than ever. Companies taking big stands this year include City Centre Marketing which has put together the largest stand ever built at MAPIC, measuring 3,700 sf.

The UK is the third biggest exhibiting country after France and Italy. There are 20 more UK companies exhibiting this year than last at 99, and they report that prices for stands have gone up.

New birds on the block include UK companies Parkview International London, Guinea Asset Management and Claire's Accessories. The only company apprently taken by Mr Fox in the darkness is a Spanish food franchiser, the appropriately named Ghost Moon, whose stand is empty.

Robert Bishop, associate director of architect Benoy, reports that he did some good business on the first day. 'We're trying to do more business in Spain and we've been taking some advice from other consultants based there while we've been here,' he said from his stand. 'We've also reinforced our contacts with ING for whom we were doing some work in Poland.'

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