Savills drops out of Expo Real

Savills is the latest major agency to withdraw as an exhibitor from real estate trade fair Expo Real, scheduled to take place in Munich this year. The agent has joined CBRE, JLL, Avison Young and Cushman & Wakefield among the firms deciding not to attend, citing concerns over the potentially prolonged risk of coronavirus. The three-day event, timetabled for 5-7 October, last year recorded 46,747 participants from 76 countries, including 2,189 exhibitors. James Sparrow, chief executive of Savills UK and EMEA, said: “Due to the scale and size of this conference, and the importance of the event to our industry, this decision has not been taken lightly but our absolute priority is the welfare of our staff as well as avoiding any service disruption to our clients in light of the ongoing situation with this global pandemic.   “Our thoughts at this time are with those affected around the world.” Marcus Lemli, head of Savills Germany, said: “We would like to thank Messe Munich for their understanding and regret that we do not feel it would be appropriate to exhibit under the current circumstances.”  It is understood that its organisers, Messe München GmbH, will convene on 9 June to determine whether the event will proceed as planned, with social distancing measures in place. MMG has been contacted for comment. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette