Cushman & Wakefield partner and head of City capital markets James Crawford has left the business.
Crawford joined C&W in 2013 after 16 years at Savills to lead the rejuvenation of the agency’s City investment team.
His appointment was hailed by C&W at the time as a “step change” in its plans to build a market-leading central London platform under the leadership of Digby Flower.
Crawford’s departure comes in the wake of the takeover of the C&W partnership by private equity-backed DTZ. The combined company has adopted the C&W brand.
The combination of the two firms has raised concerns among some C&W partners that their reward packages will be adversely affected.
C&W’s equity partners benefit from a profit-share agreement which will be scrapped when they are transferred to the corporate pay structure of the new business from January next year.
Crawford, who did not return requests for comment, is now thought to be considering his options and has yet to accept a new position. However, he is likely to be highly sought after by several firms looking to strengthen their City investment capability, given his extensive track record of advising on major deals including St Martins’ acquisition of 5 Canada Square, E14, and the assembly of 80 Fenchurch Street, EC3.
C&W has yet to confirm the leadership of its central London teams following the takeover.
City stalwart James Beckham leads the central London investment team at the legacy C&W business. DTZ’s City investment team is led by Martin Lay.
jack.sidders@estatesgazette.com
