LONDON—Continuing its international expansion, Coldwell Banker Commercial said Tuesday it has entered the London market with a new franchise affiliation. The independently owned and operated Coldwell Banker Commercial London is being chaired by Chris Palmer, who brings more than 40 years of commercial property investment experience to the affiliation, and is joined by partners Robin Paterson and Alex Upson.
“Certainly, London is a strategic location in the overall marketplace,” Fred Schmidt, president and COO of Coldwell Banker Commercial, tells GlobeSt.com. “It's a key market for us, so we've been looking at establishing an affiliate there for a long period of time.”
A great deal of the excitement surrounding the affiliation, Schmidt says, centers on the qualifications and track record of the London office's management. Palmer previously served as regional chairman for Richard Ellis in Asia where he expanded that office network to cover China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and India. He is also a founding member of Square Bay (Property) Ltd., which provides land acquisition, planning and residential development advice.
In addition to serving as a pan-European gateway, London is among the world's key investment sales markets in its own right, with some £30.7 billion (approximately US$47.5 billion) in volume during the first half of 2015, while the commercial property sector across the UK as a whole has been in expansion mode. “Having that answer for our clients in the US, as well as for our other affiliates around the world, is a key part” of the new London affiliation's value, explains Schmidt.
Along with facilitating US investors' activity, the cross-border traffic through the London office can also move in the other trans-Atlantic direction. “We anticipate that the activity level coming to the US will increase as a result of the presence of this group,” Schmidt says. Already in 44 countries, CBC is looking to increase its global presence, he adds.
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
