DTZ moves under Cushman & Wakefield brand

One of the most familiar commercial property names in Ireland, DTZ, is to be no more, as the commercial wing of Sherry FitzGerald, DTZ, moves under the Cushman & Wakefield brand. It’s one of the global ‘Top Three’ names in the field, vitally with huge US recognition.

As the exclusive affiliate in Ireland of Cushman & Wakefield, it follows the global merger of DTZ and Cushman and Wakefield in 2015, and gives a strong reach into international markets and out to international investor and funds, as well as bringing considerable debt advisory services to the brand and to the former DTZ Irish offices, in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

It’s a case of a ‘small’ operator joining big boys and very large numbers, in every sense. Cushman and Wakefield employs 43,000 worldwide, managing 4.3 billion sq ft of commercial property, spread across 60 countries, with annual revenue in the region of $5 billion.

Up to now, DTZ in Ireland employed 100, and DTZ had a 20% stake in Sherry FitzGerald’s commercial property business.

Founded in 1982, and allied to DTZ since 1998, Sherry FitzGerald employs a considerable 650, across 97 offices and is represented in every Irish county.

Across the water, Cushman & Wakefield employs 2,000, is headquartered in London and is represented in most key UK cities, with 18 offices.

Colin Wilson, Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of UK & Ireland said Ireland “has steadily emerged from a recession stronger than before, and it is a very important market for us.”

Aidan Gavin, MD for Cushman & Wakefield Ireland described the change post-merger as “a very significant watershed for our business.

This is more than a rebranding exercise: it gives us access to many new services and opportunities. Being the Irish arm of one of the top three global firms gives us access to many more occupier enquiries, finance, market intelligence, research and experts, than ever before.

The substantial debt advisory services expertise was, he added “a new offering for us that is now an integral part of every property transaction.”

Noting the importance of brand recognition and reputation worldwide, MD of the Cushman and Wakefield Cork office Peter O’Flynn said it brought great future opportunities.

“On a practical level, look at all the FDI global companies currently in Cork; companies like Pfizer, GSK, Lilly & DePuy in the pharmaceutical industry to Apple, EMC, VM Ware, Intel, Dell and Tyco in the IT & software industry.

"Although we would have worked with many of these previously, the Global Occupier Services side of the Cushman & Wakefield business places us in a much stronger position in terms of the back-ups and research capabilities and we see this side of the business already growing.”

And, added Mr O’Flynn, “equally, over the last eight years Ireland has seen many of the global private equity companies and financial investors enter the market - Blackstone, Hudson, Deutsche, Goldman Sachs and Cerberus: many of these ‘live’ in the corporate boardrooms of US and Europe. The rebranding to Cushman & Wakefield provides us with immediate recognition in this world.

“In an Ireland where we are going to need new finance for large scale residential development, we see this an important outlet,” Mr O’Flynn stated.

Details: Cushman and Wakefield 021-4275454, www.cushmanwakefield.com