Following big cuts in staff numbers, Europe’s biggest property consultants have begun hiring new staff again – but onlyin small numbers and only in selected growth areas.
“We are selectively hiring talent at a senior level to boost areas of the business where we see growth opportunities, for example in the healthcare and licensed leisure sectors in the UK and in value recovery services,” said Christian Ulbrich, Jones Lang LaSalle’s EMEA chief executive.
“We are also recruiting in shopping centre management in EMEA, mostly in Turkey and Germany,“ he added.
Property consultant Catella is also looking at adding new staff following rounds of job cuts.
“You have to think about the future,” said Johan Ericcson, Catella’s chief executive. “It is not just a question of staying alive today.”
Catella, which hopes to complete a new business plan for 2011 and 2012 by the end of September, is hiring people in fund management and asset management. The Nordic broker has focused on the sell side, which has been hit hard bythe financial and economic crisis.
Catella, which has raised €600m for various funds in the past six months, is also hiring people in its finance and restructuring operations.
CBRE has also made several appointments within growth areas, including several to reinforce its position within the real estate finance team in the UK and the Netherlands.
In Russia, CBRE has appointed Tolga Guzelce, a key figure in the Russian real estate market, to head the corporate services department. The broker also continues to add people to its Global Corporate Services team after winning contracts from firms such as Nokia, Nestlé, Pfizer and Nissan.
Cushman &Wakefield is not hiring, a spokeswoman said.
