Property deals soared by 16% last year as the market picked up in retail and lifted Cushman & Wakefield to the top of the EGi Research’s top agents leaderboard.
The win provides striking evidence of how consolidation is shifting the tectonic plates of commercial property with a new name at the top of the leaderboard for the first time in four years. Cushman & Wakefield, thanks to its merger with DTZ, now enjoys a comfortable overall lead while the previously unassailable JLL has been knocked down to fourth place.
Thanks to the addition of DTZ, C&W has been able to build on last year’s dominance in the retail sector so that it now features prominently in the office, industrial and investment categories. This has seen it sail clear from the rest of the pack in combined volumes. In truth, the signs were there last year that the chasing pack was closing the gap on JLL, which had topped the rankings every year following its 2011 merger with King Sturge, but the latest figures will still surprise many.
Indeed, had it not been for the DTZ/C&W merger then Lambert Smith Hampton would have reclaimed the title it owned throughout the noughties after embarking on its own acquisition trail of regional specialists such as Tushingham Moore, ES Group and BTW Shiells over the past couple of years.
Although CBRE dropped down a place in the overall top five to third it now sits narrowly ahead of its fellow US-owned rival JLL and retains its title as London’s most active agent. Meanwhile, Savills has risen to the top of the podium in investments and maintains its spot at fifth overall. The Leisure & Hotels top five is completely unchanged on last year, with Christie + Co at number one.
But for all the consolidation, the picture at specific geographical level still looks healthy for the regional players. Of 12 geographic areas that make up the UK, only six are topped by national companies, suggesting there is still plenty of room left in the market for the regional specialists who make up the backbone of the industry.
Scroll down for regional breakdown.
East Midlands
As usual, the battle for the overall title in the East Midlands was between FHP Property and Innes England, with the former enjoying a comfortable lead in retail and a joint lead in investments, and the latter ruling the roost in office and industrial. It was close, but Innes England just about shaded it. Lambert Smith Hampton led the charge from the nationals but was still some way short.
East of England
Barker Story Matthews has made it a hat trick of overall wins here thanks to market-leading performances in offices and in particular industrial, where it outscored its nearest competitor by almost three to one. Transaction volumes remain lower in the retail sector, which was once again topped by Roche. Savills, CBRE and Fleurets were the only national chains to feature in the top fives.
Greater London
Although it dropped a place in the national rankings, CBRE is still top dog in the country’s most coveted and fiercely contested market. It scored particularly well in office deals while also topping the rankings in investments – the capital’s transaction volumes massively outshine the rest of the UK. CBRE did, however, lose its top spot in retail to Cushman & Wakefield, which also managed to climb into the top three in offices after a 2014 performance that saw DTZ finish third and C&W seventh. Meanwhile, JLL moved back to the top of the rankings in industrial after being deposed by Glenny last year.
North East
Sanderson Weatherall just about hung on to its overall title in the North East, although it was pushed incredibly close by NE specialist agent @retail, which racked up a massive lead in the retail rankings. But Sanderson Weatherall narrowly topped the office top five and was solid enough in retail and industrial to just about get over the line. It is a market in which competition appears to be hotting up after a few years in the doldrums.
North West
CBRE retained its top spot in the North West after a barnstorming performance in office transactions, going as far as outshining its nearest competitor by two to one. The battle in retail is also of interest as, despite Lambert Smith Hampton’s acquisition of last year’s winner Tushingham Moore, Cushman & Wakefield emerged to finish on top of the pile. JLL, meanwhile, hung on to its lead in industrial.
Northern Ireland
In 2014 Lambert Smith Hampton’s name came from nowhere to finish top of the podium in Northern Ireland and the reason was its acquisition of regional specialist BTW Shiells. If anything, its foothold here became even more entrenched in 2015 after it added the investment category to the office, retail and industrial rankings, which it topped in the previous year. By far the busiest market in the region was retail.
Scotland
Ryden has an unshakable grasp on the Scottish market and few will be surprised to see it named as top overall agent with comfortable wins in both office and industrial. If the rest of the market needs encouragement it can find it in the fact JLL managed to narrowly depose it from the top of the investment rankings and Cushman & Wakefield has extended its lead in retail.
South East (excluding London)
Once again, Lambert Smith Hampton has romped home in its heartland territory in the South East, with commanding transaction volumes in offices and industrial standing at more than double those of its nearest competitor. It was a strong year too for regional specialist Wadham and Isherwood which rose to second in offices, while Cushman & Wakefield hung on to the retail title it claimed last year and Savills rose to the top of a buoyant market for investment sales.
South West
Huge leads in the office and industrial sectors helped Alder King make it 15 years in a row as top overall agent in the South West. The regional specialist also managed to bounce back to second position in retail after dropping out completely last year, suggesting it is leaving nothing to chance. The retail market was topped once more by Cushman & Wakefield while JLL retained its number one position in investments.
Wales
Lambert Smith Hampton has made it a hat-trick of wins in a Welsh market that has traditionally seen top honours finely balanced between the regional specialists and the London-based nationals. EJ Hales and Jenkins Best respectively topped retail and industrial but a narrow win in offices coupled with a strong second in industrial was enough for LSH to win overall.
West Midlands
Cushman & Wakefield has managed to depose Harris Lamb from the top of the West Midlands leaderboard thanks in large part to the combined group’s strength in the retail sector following its merger with DTZ. Both C&W and DTZ featured in last year’s retail top five and by bringing the two together the company also managed to score more deals than Harris Lamb managed in industrial. However, there was some encouragement for the regional players as KWB claimed back the office title it lost to JLL last year.
Yorkshire
It was a historic year for the Yorkshire market as, after a decade of consecutive wins, PPH Commercial lost its crown as Yorkshire’s most active agent to Carter Towler. The competition between West Yorkshire’s Carter Towler and PPH, which operates mainly in East and South Yorkshire, had been intensifying over recent years but the Leeds company has finally outscored its rival in both offices and industrial and this did the damage. CBRE and Knight Frank remained top in retail and industrial, respectively.
