London,
26
September
2017
|
10:59
Europe/London

CBRE HITS £1 MILLION MARK FOR CHARITY PARTNER SHELTER

CBRE, the global real estate advisor, has reached its fundraising target of £1 million for Shelter, the national charity that helps millions of people across the UK struggling with bad housing or homelessness.

Over the decades the slowdown in housebuilding has coincided with a huge increase in house prices. This has resulted in millions of people struggling with their housing costs, or even struggling to find a home they can afford at all.

In February 2015, CBRE staff across the UK voted for Shelter as the company’s official charity partner, and pledged to raise £250,000 over two years. The target was enthusiastically met by the first year, resulting in an extended partnership with a goal of raising £1 million by 2018. Over the last three years, CBRE employees across the nation have organised and taken part in bike rides, bake-offs, marathons, and treks, as well as clocking up over 1,350 volunteer hours volunteering in Shelter shops, helping at events, and redecorating properties. The £1 million raised has funded Shelter advisors in nine of their Service Centres across the UK, and helped over 5,500 families facing a desperate situation to find a place called home.

In addition to fundraising and volunteering, CBRE have donated 275 hours of pro-bono support to Shelter as part of the company’s aim to make a long-term difference to the charity. CBRE’s team used their expertise on a range of projects across Shelter’s portfolio identifying property savings of over £3.7 million in the next five years. Pro-bono initiatives included the creation of a new retail location strategy for Shelter which resulted in the charity opening a new boutique style Shelter Shop in Hampstead Health in October 2016. This shop instantly became one of Shelter’s top three performing shops in the UK. Shelter are now looking to open three new shops per year.

Ciaran Bird, UK Managing Director, CBRE UK
What we have achieved through shared action to help families across the UK is quite remarkable. We chose to work with Shelter because we believe the property industry has an important role to play in tackling the root causes of homelessness. Everyone at CBRE can take real pride in the difference this partnership has made to thousands of families who now have a place they can call home.
Ciaran Bird, UK Managing Director, CBRE UK
I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone at CBRE. The passion, determination, and sheer effort put into supporting this partnership has been immense. Our partnership has helped over 5,500 families at risk of homelessness or bad housing, and created a long-term difference to Shelter’s business as a result of CBRE’s property expertise.
Polly Neate, CEO, Shelter