Brokerage firms followed the economic tide in 2011, beefing up staff resources in profitable markets and scaling them back in ones where business deteriorated.
Brokerage firms followed the economic tide in 2011, beefing up staff resources in profitable markets and scaling them back in ones where business deteriorated.
Swept by a wave of mergers and acquisitions, the sector had to grapple with a new pecking order and deepening economic uncertainty as the eurozone debt crisis spiralled towards the end of the year.
Jones Lang LaSalle, which took over smaller rival King Sturge in May, announced in November that it planned to make up to 120 UK staff redundant as it prepared for a challenging year in the grip of the eurozone debt crisis.
CB Richard Ellis said it was in talks to make between 30 and 50 members of its UK staff redundant while DTZ, which is being taken over by Australia’s UGL, has also said it plans to axe 40 UK staff.
Cushman & Wakefield was one firm that hit the hiring trail in earnest in 2011. At home it had recruited close to 180 staff across various sectors by early November in what it described as an ‘ongoing strategic recruitment initiative’. It also scaled up its European capacity with appointments to its EMEA capital markets (Warsaw and London) and corporate finance teams (London).
Paul Bacon, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield EMEA, believes the prevailing challenging business environment provides good opportunities to gain market share. ‘We will continue to recruit staff who fit with our strategic plan but we will remain cautious and prudent,’ he said.
The full article appears in the December edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe
