Cushman hunts for advisory hires

Cushman & Wakefield is looking to make fresh hires in its advisory business as dealmaking picks up. On an earnings call for the third quarter, chief executive Michelle MacKay said: “With regard to advisory for us right now, we are doing a lot of investing in the data and analytics in the capital markets business in particular. And we are also on the hunt for new talent in advisory.” MacKay said the agency had achieved a 260 basis point improvement in top talent retention over the past year, adding that “funding and fuelling our brokerage business while leaning into the capital markets recovery” will be the number one priority for the firm. “High on our list on our capital allocation is growth in global capital markets and advisory on whole, and that is going to come in the form of adding to our talent pool and our systems with an eye to what the future holds for the industry, not what the past represents,” she said. MacKay said the quarter marked “an inflection point across many areas of our business”. “Over a year ago, we began to make strategic, targeted investments in leasing, informed by our view on the most promising opportunities across asset classes and geographies,” she said. “These investments have translated into clear and measurable results. The third quarter marks our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year leasing growth and our highest leasing growth since Q2 2022. “We have also reported the first quarter of capital markets growth in the Americas since the second quarter of 2022. We are seeing a broadening of capital markets activities in the market and increased optimism amongst buyers and sellers.”