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2008-02-20 22:48:40
 Preliminary figures from global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) show turnover of operations on a global basis rose to US$1.8 billion in 2007, a 21% increase on 2006 (2006: US$1.5 bln.). Turnover for the firm’s EMEA operations rose by 32.8% in 2007 to £282.4 million (?384.1 mln.) from £212.0 million in 2006. The firm’s strongest performing offices in EMEA included those in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary as well as Romania, which saw very strong revenue growth in its first year of operation.
Continued European expansion:
The firm continued its expansion strategy across Europe during the year with key developments including:
Acquired remaining 50% stake in C&W Residential and C&W Hotels
Acquired 35-strong Activ Consulting in Romania
Opened new offices in Birmingham, Lyon, Helsinki and Kiev
Acquired Alston Nock - niche retail agency specialists in Midlands, UK
Acquired Petch Hall - leading retail parks specialist in North of England
Attracting and retaining the best people continues to be a priority for the firm and during the year it increased the number of staff it employs in EMEA by around 400 taking the total to 2,100. The firm was very successful in attracting a total of 25 partners during the year. Notable key staff recruitment in 2007 included;
Six-strong real estate finance team from Ernst & Young led by Paul Vernham
Top capital markets professionals from Jones Lang Lasalle in the Netherlands.
Four-strong London planning team from DTZ led by Shaun Andrews
London-based KPMG hospitality and leisure advisory services team led by Nick Pattie
Chris Osmond, UK retail review specialist from CWM
Four-strong retail agency team in Manchester, UK from DTZ led by Matthew Illingworth
Business Highlights - EMEA:
Cushman & Wakefield continued to grow its activities and market share across all sectors throughout Europe taking advantage of the strong investment market in first half of the year.
Capital Markets
The firm’s 265-strong European Capital Markets Group advised on more than ?27.5 billion worth of transactions in 2007, an increase of nearly 47% on the previous year. The capital markets team experienced outstanding performance in all markets and strengthened its position as a leading investment agency player in Europe.
Key capital markets transaction highlights include:
In UK, advised Mitsubishi Estate on its £400 million joint venture development funding with Legal & General of a 500,000 ft² office, retail and residential development in Central London.
Advised Lehman Brothers Real Estate and its French partner the private company Atemi on one of the largest single asset deal in Europe, the purchase of the Coeur Défense office complex in Paris. This landmark building was acquired for ?2.11 billion.
Advised on the sale of a portfolio of 51 retail assets across Germany on behalf of Curzon Global Partners for c: ?750 million.
Advised HDG Mansur Investment Services in the sale of a 18,000-m² office property let to Ericsson located in a high profile business park near Stockholm for ?70 million.
Advised Metro Group on the sale of 12 hypermarkets in Germany to Delek Global Real Estate for ?243 million.
Client Solutions
The firm’s Client Solutions team provides strategic real estate advice to more than 80 retained corporate occupier clients across EMEA and has won new contracts for GSK, Orange and EMC.
Retail
The firm’s 450-strong European retail team maintained and expanded its market leading position in 2007, completing in excess of 4,000 transactions totalling more than 2 million m², and were appointed on over 50 new shopping center schemes. Cushman & Wakefield now has over 500 individual retailer relationships where it has preferred or retained status throughout Europe.
Business highlights include:
In the UK, the firm won seven new shopping center leasing mandates including two joint appointments with our Spanish retail team on Puerto Venecia, Zaragoza and Diagonal Mar, Barcelona
In Czech Republic, the firm advises EPD on Prague’s prime down-town shopping center development, Palladium, due to open in 2007 and 100% pre-leased. Retailers include Marks & Spencer, Combipel, Next, H&M, C&A.
In France, the firm has been appointed on a 41,000-m² shopping center, Terrasses du Port, situated in Marseilles and the center piece of a much larger regeneration project in the port.
In the UK the firm further strengthened its national retail coverage with acquisitions of niche retail firms Petch Hall, and Alston Nock and the recruitment of a retail team in Manchester and leading retail rent review specialist, Chris Osmond.
Offices
The firm’s 220-strong office agency team advised clients on more than 1.5 million m² of office space in EMEA in 2007:
Advised on the acquisition of 18,000 m² for Procter & Gamble in Moscow at Metropolis Leningradskoe
Represented Bank Millenium in the lease of 30,000 m² for the bank’s new HQ building in Harmony-Polifonia Office Center in central Warsaw. This was the largest business space deal in Poland.
Represented The Carlyle Group in the leasing of 15,600 m² in Minéralis building Montrouge, Paris to Bayard Presse for its headquarters.
Appointed as the sole office agent on Mediacity:UK at Salford Quays, Manchester. Mediacity:UK is a major trophy instruction and is intended to compete with other global media cities. The site has outline consent for over 120,770 m² of office space plus Retail and Hotels and has the potential to increase to over 650,000 m² over the next 20 years.
Fund Management
Cushman & Wakefield Investors performed well in 2007 and now employs 35 people in offices in London, Frankfurt and Paris with ?6.1 billion assets under management. During the year C&W Investors was appointed by Prupim to undertake acquisition and asset management work in Continental Europe on its behalf.
Paul Bacon, chief executive officer of Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA operations, said: “The 33% increase in our revenues last year reflects the strength and depth of our business across all sectors and countries in Europe. In these more uncertain times we are fortunate to be in a position of such strength as a private, non-leveraged business with a leading global brand. We are in great shape to grow and take market share in EMEA and will focus on those areas that will most benefit our clients and that will give us the best returns.”
“In an uncertain and opportunistic market environment, Cushman & Wakefield has continued to benefit from its stature as a true partner to our clients in the world’s major business districts,” said Bruce Mosler, president and chief executive officer of Cushman & Wakefield. “On a global basis, particularly in the largest cities, real estate fundamentals remain strong, with low vacancies and premium rents and there is still a tremendous amount of capital targeting property, which all bodes well for the sector’s outlook.”
Globally, Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s third largest real estate adviser with more than 12,500 professionals in 215 offices in 56 countries.
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