CBRE #1 Real Estate Company on Fortune’s Most Admired List for Second Consecutive Year

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) announced that it was the top-ranked real estate company on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Company roster for the second year in a row. It is the eighth straight year that CBRE has been named a Fortune Most Admired Company.

Fortune grades companies on nine attributes related to corporate performance, based on surveys of industry participants. CBRE led the real estate sector on eight key performance attributes – financial soundness, global capabilities, innovation, long-term investment, management quality, people management, service quality, and use of corporate assets – and placed second in corporate responsibility.

“This is a key measure of corporate reputation and we are proud that our people’s strong focus on excellence in every aspect of our business has once again made us the top real estate company on Fortune’s Most Admired list,” said Bob Sulentic, president and chief executive officer of CBRE.

Drawing from a base of some 1,500 companies, Fortune evaluated 680 companies from 30 countries in determining the World’s Most Admired Companies. The real estate sector encompasses REITs, property owners, hotel and health care facility operators, residential firms and other companies. Fortune surveys board directors, executives and financial analysts to determine the individual company scores and rankings.

About CBRE Group, Inc.

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2018 revenue). The company has more than 90,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 480 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

CBRE Named Top 50 Company for Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Matters

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) on November, 2019 has been named to the Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) list of Top 50 Best ESG Companies. CBRE is #23 and the only commercial real estate services firm on the list.
The IBD Top 50 Best ESG Companies list is comprised of companies with strong environmental, social and governance ratings from MSCI ESG Research and high IBD Composite Ratings, reflecting broad strength in earnings and share-price performance.
Earlier this year, CBRE was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World). CBRE was also ranked #15 on Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens and was recognized as one of the Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies.
“Our people are extremely focused on driving exceptional outcomes for all our stakeholders. This is fundamental to CBRE’s ongoing success and is being increasingly reflected in our robust performance on independent performance measures like the IBD ratings. We deeply appreciate everything our people do to earn these accolades,” said Bob Sulentic, CBRE’s president and chief executive officer.
More information on CBRE’s corporate responsibility initiatives can be found at www.cbre.com/responsibility.

About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2018 revenue). The company has more than 90,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 480 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

CBRE WINS THREE REAL ESTATE BRAND AWARDS

Frankfurt |June

Global property advisor CBRE has received three awards from the European Real Estate Brand Institute. CBRE topped the two lists of “Integrated Real Estate Managers Europe” and “Brokers Europe” in the Strongest Brand category and was recognized for its digitalization competence in the Strongest Growth category.

CBRE’s strong innovation capacity, broad capabilities, and talented employees with deep sector experience were all key drivers for these wins. We are particularly proud of being named Europe’s leading Integrated Real Estate Manager. The awards are confirmation of our expertise and the successful collaboration of our team.

Prof. Dr. Alexander von Erdély, CEO of CBRE Germany

CBRE’s tech and innovation capabilities were further highlighted by the additional KPI AWARD for digitalization competence, acknowledging the firm as one of Europe’s technology leaders.

We are seeing a paradigm shift with digitalization, which presents both a challenge and opportunity for the real estate sector, and business need to fully embrace this change in order to remain competitive. We are therefore delighted that the extensive progress we have made with digitalization has been recognized through the European Real Estate Brand KPI award.

Dr. Thomas Herr, EMEA Head of Digital Innovation at CBRE

Rising interest rates offset falling margins in some markets, as cost of European commercial real estate debt inches up in Q3

London | 11 December 2018

The cost of senior borrowing rose in Q3 2018 according to the latest data from global real estate advisor, CBRE. CBRE’s quarterly European debt map shows a general trend for rising costs over the quarter, driven largely by an increase in interest rates. Five year swap rates (which are used as a proxy for the interest rate component) rose in each of the 20 countries over the quarter, adding an average of 13bps to the total cost of senior debt (ranging from an 11bps increase in Switzerland to 19bps in Norway and Sweden).

As a result, the total cost of senior debt was higher on average across the whole of Europe (rising 11bps to 2.28%) and flat or higher in the four major country groupings – G7 countries (up 4bps to 2.03%), Scandinavian countries (up 14bps to 2.23%), rest of Western European countries (flat at 1.90%) and CEE countries (up 32bps to 3.06%).

A few countries bucked the trend, offsetting either partially or entirely rising swap rates with falling margins. Italy and Sweden saw senior margins fall by 10bps, while LTVs were static, so that the rise in total cost of senior debt was minimal at just 3bps.

Three countries saw the total cost of senior debt decline:

In Ireland, senior margins fell from 1.50% to 1.25%, more than offsetting a 13bps rise in the five year Euribor swap rate, so that the total cost of debt fell to 2.04%.
In Spain, borrowers of senior debt saw a double boost from both rising LTVs (from 60% to 65%) and falling margins, which in falling significantly from 1.80% to 1.25% aligns Madrid more with the likes of Berlin, Paris and London than, say, Lisbon or Rome. The total cost of debt declined from 2.26% to 1.72%.
In the UK, changes in fortunes were more nuanced and on balance probably saw little decisive shift in favour of either borrower or lender; while senior margins declined from 1.50% to 1.25%, so too did LTVs fall from 60% to 55%.

CBRE’s European Debt Map provides the latest data on commercial property lending terms in 20 countries across the continent. Updated to the end of Q3 2018, it allows lenders and borrowers to critically compare key lending parameters, such as LTV, margin, overall cost of debt and a host of risk measures.

Paul Coates, Head of Debt and Structured Finance, Europe at CBRE

We can see across the market that the depth of liquidity from lenders continues to increase, across both geography and asset classes. This competitive landscape gives borrowers the opportunity to secure favourable terms both on margins, as the data shows, but also flexibility on structure to support the clients’ business plans. The lending market continues to evolve and navigation can be supported by insightful and trusted advice to ensure the right lending package and partner can be secured. Paul Coates, Head of Debt and Structured Finance, Europe at CBRE

CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2019 competition opens for entries

‘Future Cities’ is the Theme for 12th Annual Urban Photography Competition

London | 22 November 2018

CBRE has launched its 2019 global Urban Photographer of the Year competition with the theme, “Future Cities.” Now in its 12th year, the competition continues to grow, with last year’s contest attracting more than 80,000 entries from 170 countries around the world.

This year’s theme invites photographers to submit photos that capture their vision of a future city.

The competition is free to enter and open to both professional and amateur photographers. A unique element to the competition allows each entrant to submit up to 24 images; one to represent each hour of the day. The overall global winner will be awarded a special photography trip to a destination of their choice for themselves and a friend. Other prizes include GoPro packages, photographic equipment and more. CBRE is accepting entries until January 31, 2019 and the winners will be announced in May 2019.

Martin Samworth, Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at CBRE and the competition’s executive sponsor commented: “This competition always provides inspiring insights into how we interact with our ever-changing urban environments and this year’s theme will encourage photographers to interpret how they perceive our cities of the future.”

Leslie Gall, CBRE’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, says, “We are a company deeply connected with the urban environment, and the Urban Photographer of the Year competition allows us to demonstrate our knowledge and passion for city life. As evidenced by the record number of entries we received last year, this unique competition continues to capture the interest and imagination of photographers around the world.”

Richard Morgan, an award-winning British street photographer living in Poland, was named as the overall global 2018 competition winner with his image, “What are you looking at?” – a compelling image connecting local and tourist spectators and the city in Poznan, Poland.

About the CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year competition
Website: www.cbreupoty.com
Facebook: CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year
Twitter: @UPOTY
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbre/

Key terms – for full Terms and Conditions, please visit the website

Copyright/Usage: By submitting a Photo, entrant grants Sponsor and its agents, affiliates and subsidiaries a perpetual, unlimited worldwide royalty free license (including the right to sub license), for the maximum legal term of the Photo’s copyright protection, with full title guarantee and right to post, publish, and otherwise make use of, entrant’s first name, last initial, address (city/state/country), likeness or picture, biographical information, Photo description(s) and any Photo submitted in publication and/or on the internet, for advertising and/ or promotional use in any media in connection with and/or related to the Contest or a similar competition run by the Sponsor or any of its group companies without notice or compensation of any kind.Entrant agrees that all applicable taxes, fees and other levies on any prize are solely the winner’s responsibility.Copyright in all Photos remains the property of the entrant at all times; however, in addition to the above licence, entrants agree to the maximum extent permitted by law, to waive all or not to assert any of their moral rights in the photos (or equivalent rights anywhere in the world) as against the Sponsor and its agents, affiliates and subsidiaries in particular but without limitation the right to be referenced as the photographer or owner of the image or to modify in any way the submitted Photos to the extent permitted by law.

CBRE strengthens data centres offering with strategic IT hire

London | 23 October 2018

CBRE has announced the appointment of Duncan Clubb as Senior Director, IT Consulting, EMEA, in its Data Centre Solutions business.

Duncan has worked as a consultant advising on data centre, cloud, and Hybrid IT infrastructure. He brings with him over twenty-five years of experience in the sector having worked with clients including the Bank of England, Capgemini, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Travelex and Barclays.

In his new role at CBRE, Duncan will be responsible for leading IT consulting within the Data Centre Solutions business. He will focus on providing IT advisory services to clients, looking at their data centre and cloud strategies, as well as the planning and running of data centre migrations and cloud transformation programmes.

In response to increased market demands, Duncan’s experience and new role strategically compliments Data Centre Solutions’ rapidly expanding global IT service offering. The business now provides the full spectrum of data centre IT services, including capacity strategy and planning, migration, project delivery and managed ICT services.

Andrew Jay, Head of Data Centre Solutions EMEA

The data centre landscape is rapidly evolving and Duncan brings strong experience on both the consulting and service provider sides, offering an invaluable perspective for clients exploring Hybrid IT solutions and opportunities.
His deep understanding of the industry and diverse data centre expertise makes him a great addition to the team.
Andrew Jay, Head of Data Centre Solutions EMEA

CBRE Baltics team participates in Time Capsule planting event at Mežaparka Offices that marks next stage of Mežaparka Rezidences development

CBRE Baltics team was honoured to participate in the Mežparka Offices Time Capsule planting event at Mežaparka Rezidences, held on September 20, 2018. Mežaparka Offices is one of the most distinctive projects in Riga with commercial building (Leasable area 3,266 sq m) to be commissioned in Q3 2019. The area is one of the most sought-after in the city, bringing together an amazing balance of exclusivity, nature, amenities and prospects, as well as great transport connections to Central Riga and other districts. We are extremely privileged to represent and consult Domuss, the initiators of the project.

London tops ranking for largest tech clusters in new CBRE study

London | 05 September 2018

Summary

London, Madrid and Dublin top the ranking of large clusters
Thames Valley, Oslo and Basel rank highly among medium-sized clusters
Derby-Nottingham, Florence and Krakow score top places for smaller growth clusters

London has topped a ranking for EMEA’s largest technology clusters, according to research from CBRE, the world’s leading real estate advisor. The report EMEA Tech Cities: Opportunities in Technology Hotspots, published on 05 September 2018, provides a framework for occupiers and investors to assess the characteristics of technology clusters in economic, leasing and employment terms at regional and city level. The analysis identifies four separate categories of technology cluster in the EMEA region, based on a city’s level, concentration and growth of tech sector employment. This approach reflects the fact that technology clusters are very diverse in their structure, cost base and attraction to specialist technology sub-sectors.

The ranking headed by London, covered capital cities and business centres with more than 70,000 people in tech employment. London’s top position in this ranking is partly due to its ability to attract young millennial talent. Its overall employment in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has grown by 20% since 2008, with its proportion of ICT employment at almost two and a half times the EU average. London has a strong sub-sector mix with no single activity dominating its employment, reflecting the city’s position as one of the world’s leading technology centres.

Kevin McCauley, CBRE's Head of Central London Research

It is no surprise that London has topped the EMEA tech ranking. London’s tech credentials enable it to out-shine its peers, with both large and small tech occupiers expanding and looking to secure space in the City. Kevin McCauley, CBRE’s Head of Central London Research

Other cities that rank highly in the same category include Dublin (3^rd), Budapest (4^th) and Bucharest (=10^th). The attractors of those cities also differ. Dublin’s success has been supported by strong government investment promotion, particularly toward US companies attracted by the cultural affinity and attractiveness of the city to young talent from across Europe. Budapest and Bucharest, have the advantage of labour cost arbitrage over Western European cities, but this has started to erode in the tech sector as people work remotely and those in the gig economy align their fees to their Western European counterparts.

Two further categories focus on medium-sized of between 20-70,000 tech employees. Most of the high-ranking locations in these categories are either established tech locations, such as the Thames Valley in the UK; places where tech has grown to support other activities, such as Vienna and smaller regional centres supported by a strong tech-university presence such as Basel.

The final category looks at smaller growth clusters, defined as locations with double-digit growth in tech employment both since 2010, and forecast over the next five years. Derby/Nottingham, Florence and Krakow all rank highly in this category. There is less uniformity in this category than in the others. Some cities have grown supporting other sectors, others are low labour cost destinations in CEE and some are second tier cities and regional business centres. Many are cities that are “cool” to work in for lifestyle reasons, rather than having the legacy of an established tech sector.

Stephen Fleetwood, Head of Location analytics at CBRE

These smaller clusters are perhaps the most interesting of all, as they demonstrate the footloose nature of the tech sector and the critical importance of labour and skills in the evolution of tech cities. Companies that drive this cluster are often not bound by legacy locations, or historical ties to cities or countries and real estate is not their primary concern, but simply an enabler. The question of where to find tech labour is exercising many companies at present, and this grouping includes some non-obvious but increasingly important locations with strong skills credentials. Stephen Fleetwood, Head of Location analytics at CBRE

Labour is not only fundamental to the success of the technology sector, it also has distinctive characteristics including a high incidence of contract employment, greater transparency of rewards and use of online channels both for job-checking and brand development. In addition, talent perspectives are changing, with millennial workers accustomed to taking risks and often not aspiring to work for large brands. Start-ups, where they can take ownership of a product or activity is where they turn to for advancement. Analysis of the characteristics of tech labour markets should be integral to location decisions, and many smaller but fast-growing cities in the EMEA region offer favourable possibilities. Richard Holberton, Head of EMEA occupier research at CBRE

CBRE advises AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets on strategic data centre acquisition

London | 20 July 2018

CBRE, the world’s leading real estate advisor has provided commercial and technical data centre advice to AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets which, on behalf of its client AXA France, has acquired the remaining stake in European data centre operator DATA4, from Colony Capital, increasing AXA IM – Real Assets’ client’s ownership of the platform from 37% to 100%.

DATA4 finances, designs, builds and operates data centres. It currently provides a total of 27,100 sq m of net technical space and over 140 MW of available power. It operates 15 data centres across three sites in France, Italy and Luxembourg, including Europe’s largest and most powerful data centre campus, located in Paris.

CBRE was able to draw upon its industry-leading integrated data centre solutions group to execute a wide range of due diligence, which included an analysis of the mechanical & electrical infrastructure, maintenance programme, capex budget, building fabric, DATA4’s commercial business plan and data centre market analysis.

Paul Mortlock, Data Centre Investment Director at CBRE

We are delighted to have advised AXA IM – Real Assets on such a high-profile transaction. We were able to quickly mobilise a number of data centre specialists from across both our Advisory & Transaction and Global Workplace Solution businesses to offer a comprehensive suite of commercial and technical due diligence to AXA IM – Real Assets.

Global data centre M&A reached record levels in 2017 and has continued into 2018. CBRE research shows that $25bn was transacted in 2017 alone, more than the four previous years combined. Significant growth in the sector, coupled with high barriers to entry, makes European data centres an extremely attractive asset class, which is enticing investors from across the globe.

Paul Mortlock, Data Centre Investment Director at CBRE

CBRE Recognized for “Best Use of Automation” by Realcomm for the Third Consecutive Year

Los Angeles | 8 June 2018

CBRE has earned Realcomm’s Digie award for the Best Use of Automation in the Commercial Services category. This marks the third consecutive year that CBRE has been recognized with a Digie award by Realcomm, a worldwide research and event company focused on real estate technology.

“We design our tech solutions – including our Vantage suite of enablement technologies – to help deliver measurably superior outcomes for our clients,” said Chandra Dhandapani, Chief Digital and Technology Officer for CBRE. “This award reflects the rising level of sophistication and increasing pace of innovation occurring at all levels within CBRE.”

CBRE received other notable accolades from Realcomm at its 2018 conference. CBRE|ESI Founder Paul Oswald, who recently retired, was honored with a prestigious Realcomm Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a career of industry firsts and continuous advancement of tech solutions across client portfolios. CBRE was also named a finalist in the Best Use of Automation in Investment Management category.

Realcomm also recognized Don Goldstein, former CBRE Chief Information Officer, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Realcomm’s Digie awards recognize companies, real estate projects, technologies and people that go above and beyond to positively impact the real estate industry using technology, automation and innovation.

CBRE earned Realcomm’s Digie award in 2017 for its smart building solutions innovations and in 2016 for its CORE Asset Services operating platform, which allows property management professionals to assess and track key performance indicators and operational data to help clients make timely and strategic decisions.

CBRE’s Vantage suite of enablement technologies provides automation, visualization, data analytics and other capabilities for our professionals and clients at various stages of the real estate lifecycle. More information is available at: www.cbre.com/vantage.

About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2017 revenue). The company has more than 80,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.