London,
29
March
2016
|
15:45
Europe/London

REAL ESTATE OUTSOURCING DEMAND CONTINUES TO SOAR

Industrial Sector Leads Enquiries

Companies outsourcing their real estate and facilities management requirements have hit record levels across EMEA, according to new data from CBRE, the global real estate advisor.

CBRE's EMEA Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) business received a record number of Requests for Information (RFI) or Requests for Proposals (RFP) from corporations and other organisations in the region wishing to outsource all, or part, of their real estate activities in 2015. This marks a 190% increase over 2012 activity.

CBRE’s analysis shows that the industrial sector was the most active in the EMEA real estate outsourcing arena, accounting for 23% of RFIs and RFPs received in 2015.

Sector Breakdown – Corporate Real Estate Outsourcing

Source: CBRE

The increase in industrial sector outsourcing is largely due to the following reasons:

  • Growing need for efficiencies due to concerns about slower growth in the manufacturing sector
  • Single sites or smaller sites which, historically, are less conducive to outsourcing are now adopting this practice
  • Specialist asset types require specialist advice so the sector, traditionally, has been more inclined to review portfolios ‘in-house’. Again, this practice is changing as third party service providers gain increasing technical expertise

Strong demand for outsourcing services was also recorded in the technology sector which accounted for 14% of activity, with financial services and healthcare each representing an additional 10%. CBRE’s data also shows the most popular real estate function to outsource is facilities management, with 64% of its global outsourcing briefs including this service.

The growth trend for outsourcing is also reflected in CBRE’s recently launched European Occupier Survey, which spanned 120 world-renowned organisations. Fifty-four percent of respondents noted that that they outsourced some or part of their property requirements, via a specialist property advisory company. This figure marks an uplift from 30% the year before and demonstrates that more corporates are seeking, and using, specialist property advisors for outsourcing advice. Annie Corrway, Vice President – Client Solutions, EMEA GWS discusses this trend in this video.

Sources of Real Estate Advice

SourceCBRE’s European Occupier Survey

Ian Entwisle, Chief Executive Officer, GWS EMEA at CBRE commented
The first outsourcing contract was recorded in 1989 in the Americas.  Since then, the market has moved to EMEA and grown exponentially in recent years.

Initially, contracts were task-orientated and focused on cost savings, but over time that has changed. The skills consultants can offer integrating the four main strands of real estate outsourcing, namely the management of facilities, transactions, projects and strategy consultancy, has become core parts of the attraction of the service. As a result, companies realise they can create a competitive advantage by maximising their estates through leveraging scale and utilising advances in technology to create better work environments.
Ian Entwisle, Chief Executive Officer, GWS EMEA at CBRE commented