CBRE ties up with Knight Frank in bid for more European, Mideast business

CB RICHARD Ellis Philippines, Inc. (CBRE) said it is partnering with a UK global property consultancy to tap the latter’s client portfolio, particularly markets in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) which only represent a quarter of CBRE’s current client base.

CBRE officials said yesterday in a briefing that the company will partner with London-based firm Knight Frank as part of a transition to Santos Knight Frank starting in January next year, transferring its current work force of 1,200 under the new brand.

Joey M. Radovan, CBRE vice chairman for Corporate Agency and Brokerage, said that this would offer a “back door access” to the EMEA market that currently takes up a small share compared to US firms, which account for around 60% to 70% in CBRE’s client portfolio.

“One of the reasons why we’ve actually partnered with Knight Frank which is headquartered in London is we want to develop demand in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa sectors of the world,” he told reporters yesterday in a briefing.

“I think Knight Frank will give us a back door access to these companies because we already have a lot of US companies in and out of the Philippines.”

This would also allow the company to take hold of the momentum in the tourism industry, he added, which is set to become another main driver to the real estate industry apart from business process outsourcing and outsourcing.

He noted that developers are seeing an “upside” in the tourism industry, which in turn could have a positive effect on real estate as well. “We believe that with our market position, also with the partnership, we have placed ourselves in the middle of this great opportunity where tourism being the next growth area will actually drive real estate requirements.”

Moreover, in their pivot towards a more aggressive approach into the residential sector, Mr. Radovan said ultra high net worth individuals have expressed interest in the Philippines, noting the relatively cheap prices.

“Residential is a very wide market. One of the things you are going to see is that high end market is going to boom because investing in luxury is an untapped market,” he said in the sidelines of the briefing.

“We have not really marketed ourselves very aggressively in that space. But that is one of the reasons why we were actually attracted to go with this firm – to actually develop that market because if pricing in residential keeps appreciating, we guys think in the local front, we need the global economy to actually support this.”

Sarah Harding, Knight Frank’s head of residential in Asia Pacific, added that there are high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals are “looking to diversify their portfolio throughout Asia.”

Knight Frank is the largest privately owned global real estate consultancy, with more than 400 offices in 59 countries. —