LOS ANGELES-EA Shaw, an independent commercial and residential property partnership specializing in Central London, has become part of CBRE Group Inc.’s Central London business. The acquisition complements CBRE’s position in the West End, City and East London markets and is the second investment CBRE has made in the UK this year, following the acquisition of Fran Warwick in September.
The acquisition falls under the leadership of Adam Hetherington, CBRE’s managing director, Central London, who will continue to lead the Central London business from the Covent Garden office. Through the transaction, CBRE brings on board an established team of commercial real estate professionals in London’s Midtown and South Bank areas, including Nick Bark, head of management, and Charlie Killen, head of commercial.
The acquisition significantly enhances CBRE’s fast-growing Central London residential business, which will now offer a full range of services in the prime and super-prime segments of the market. “The combination of EA Shaw and CBRE creates a formidable force in the Central London market with a unique capability to provide advice across both the residential and commercial sectors,” said Hetherington in a prepared statement. “EA Shaw is highly regarded in the residential market, and alongside their strength in development marketing, they bring a highly skilled lettings, management and second-hand sales/acquisitions services team to CBRE.”
Founded in 1899, EA Shaw provides commercial and residential investment, management, asset management and leasing services to clients including Shaftesbury PLC, Soho Estates, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Legal & General. Earlier this year, EA Shaw was named London Property Advisor of the Year by Estates Gazette for the fifth time in six years.
“EA Shaw is an ideal partner for us; our combined commercial and residential offerings provide another significant dimension to our London and international capabilities,” said Michael Strong, chairman & CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa for CBRE, in the statement. “London is one of the most important real estate markets globally, and extending our leadership position to new segments of the city enhances our ability to respond to client requirements.”
Over the past two years, CBRE has built a network of residential experts based in key markets across Europe and Asia, focused on promoting super-prime opportunities in Central London. CBRE Residential already serves a variety of clients including Berkeley Homes, Exemplar, CIT and Barratts. Also, industry research reports that during the first nine months of the year, CBRE was the most active capital-markets advisor in the UK and Central London and the top office leasing agent in London in the third quarter of the year.
CBRE’s Mark Collins will become chairman of the combined residential business, with EA Shaw’s Lisa Hollands serving as managing director, and CBRE’s Chris Lacey continuing as head of residential funding & investment. The enlarged residential team will operate from both EA Shaw’s existing Covent Garden offices and CBRE’s Henrietta House base in the West End.
In other CBRE Group news, the firm has appointed Alex Darragh to oversee its business global corporate services in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean to enhance client service and accelerate business growth. He is currently leader for the company’s global corporate services business in the U.S. Central division, but Steve Quick, who joined the firm earlier this year after holding several senior leadership positions within the global workplace solutions division of Johnson Controls, will take over this position.
As GlobeSt.com previously reported, CBRE Group Inc. recently revealed that global office real estate values and rents were largely unchanged in third-quarter 2012, with values rising slightly and rental rate averages lowering slightly. The firm’s Global Office Capital Value Index ticked up 0.6%, and its Global Office Rent Index fell 0.7% during the quarter, indicating no significant move of the needle.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
