LONDON-Global real estate services firm Savills announced today that it recorded revenue up 7% to $1.1 billion for the year ending 2011, in part due to moving business away from struggling Europe and into Asia. Jeremy Helsby, CEO, said in a statement that the company will continue to diversify its workload, as Savills believes the US market will recover further, Europe will stay in decline and China will continue to demand the most global attention.
He said Savills has been gradually moving business away from its traditional base of the United Kingdom so that the firm is not reliant on a particular geographic area for revenue. Thus, the company now receives 51% of its income from outside the United Kingdom, with 41% alone coming from Asia. “That trend is going to continue this year, as the rate of expansion in Asia is faster than that of Europe,” Helsby said. China is the strongest market for the company, though the firm is also opening an office in Sydney.
Results in Europe have been more disappointing, he said, as the company saw much fewer transactions due to the lack of confidence in the Euro. “We’ve closed our two offices in Rome and Barcelona, though we are investing more in the core markets of France and Germany,” Helsby said.
London has been the stalwart market for Europe, however, he says. There’s been a flight of international capital into London, which investors see as a safe haven, especially for residential property. “I’m still incredibly bullish on London,” Helsby said. “Just today we were appointed joint leasing agent on Heron Tower, about 350,000 square feet.”
He said the company’s key priorities for 2012 are to join in that capital stream flowing between London and Asia. “We anticipate a continuation of challenging transaction market conditions in the first half of 2012, with greater market confidence emerging to improve financial performance during the second half,” Helsby said.
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