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Today's news that Annecy in the Haute-Savoie region of France has been selected to compete with Munich in Germany and Pyeongchang in South Korea to host the Winter Olympics in 2018 means that British investors could soon be 'going for gold' in the race to secure properties tipped to soar in value in the run-up to the event.

"That will be confirmed once the final winner is announced in July 2011," says Nathalie Turchet, London-based UK sales manager of the MGM Group, the Annecy-based developer which has eight residential schemes planned or underway in the historic town and villages around its lake.

She says: "Although still relatively unknown to Britons, the picturesque 'olde worlde' town in the foothills of the French Alps, with its 'Little Venice' canal network, restaurants, cafes and weekly markets, increasingly will be the subject of countless conversations and media reports as the competition hots up.

"If Annecy wins it is inevitable that the demand for property will soar as planning for the Winter Olympics gets underway, so capital growth and rental incomes can be expected to rocket."

The scope for good rental returns is already high in the university town which regularly hosts international conferences, festivals and sporting events.

Annecy is only half-an-hour by road from top ski resorts like Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz which will be among those participating in the Winter Olympics if Annecy wins.

In that case, as the region's leading property developer for more than 45 years, the €180 million turnover MGM Group would be very keen to become a major supporter of the Winter Olympics, reports Nathalie.

She says: "We would be looking for significant sponsorship opportunities but it is too early to say whether we would be bidding to build the Olympic Villages planned for Annecy and Plaine du Mont-Blanc."

From Britain, travel to Annecy is easy following the recent completion of a new motorway link with Geneva and its international airport just 30 minutes away by road. Annecy is around three hours by TGV from Paris and its Eurostar rail link with London's St Pancras International.