Cushman & Wakefield Buys Australian Firm

By Barbra Murray

Matthew Bouw, CEO, Asia Pacific, Cushman & Wakefield

For the second time in a single week, Cushman & Wakefield has announced a notable acquisition. The global commercial real estate services firm recently completed the purchase of Inc RE, a leading Australian capital markets firm.

Based in Sydney, Inc RE focuses its services on commercial sales, acquisitions and investment advisory. The firm made its debut in early 2017 and in the 18 months since it closed transactions valued at nearly $2.3 billion and totaling more than 196,400 square meters, or approximately 2.1 million square feet. Recent office deals include Lendlease Investment Management’s acquisition of the tower at 10 Spring St. in Sydney from Centuria Capital, and AEW’s purchase from Bright Ruby of 10 Barrack St., also located in Sydney.

“The attraction to our business is the Cushman & Wakefield global platform, and more importantly its strong global focus on Capital Markets,” Josh Cullen, Cushman & Wakefield’s newly appointed international director & head of capital markets, Australia and New Zealand, said in a prepared statement. “With the continued globalization of real estate investment capital, we see it as an opportunity to connect Australian clients and investment products to global capital sources.”

Cullen, former Inc RE principal, will spearhead a team of 14 brokers. The practice in Sydney will include Rick Butler, Steve Kearney and Mark Hansen, as well as Claire Zouroudis, Charles Long and Lisa Lee, all of whom join Cushman & Wakefield from Inc RE.

“Today’s announcement further strengthens our position as a leading capital markets firm globally and highlights the power of our brand and culture to attract the best talent,” Matthew Bouw, CEO, Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield, said in prepared remarks.

Global growth

News of the Inc RE deal came just days after Cushman & Wakefield revealed it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the commercial property division of Sherry FitzGerald Group in the Republic of Ireland. The transaction is on track to close in September.

Other commercial real estate services firms have been expanding their footprint beyond U.S. borders of late. During the second quarter of 2018, CBRE Group announced the acquisition of its Tel Aviv-based affiliate company, MAN Properties Real Estate Consultants. Colliers International also announced plans to expand internationally with an agreement to purchase Engel & Völkers Main -Taunus GmbH, a top multifamily investment services firm in the Frankfurt area in Germany.

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