Jones Lang LaSalle this week won a major global occupier contract, fitting its strategy to increase its management revenues substantially.
The appointment covers the 9.77m sq ft global portfolio of IT services company Unisys. It includes 2.4m sq ft in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Chief executive of JLL’s EMEA business Alastair Hughes said he wants to leverage its experience advising US corporates like Unisys to target more European companies.
The agent’s Occupier Solutions business covers transactions, fit-out and facilities management.
JLL, which replaces CB Richard Ellis, will manage all transactions and lease administration for Unisys, which this month reported net losses of $77.5m (£40.7m), down from $1.6bn (£840m).
Unisys is keen to cut costs and said it wants its property to fit the business better.
Contracts like this will account for around 25% of JLL’s revenues in EMEA countries this year, up from 15% in 2000.
Other clients include Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Nortel, Regus and Motorola. In the US, this business accounts for around 50% of revenue.
Hughes said: “For the past five or six years, we’ve been quietly building up our corporate solutions business and it’s beginning to pay dividends.”
The Unisys portfolio includes its UK HQ at Uxbridge and properties in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, Milton Keynes and Slough.
Most of the portfolio 5.77m sq ft is in the US, where JLL will provide facilities management and project management services.
The remaining 1.6m sq ft is in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
References: EGi News 17/11/06
