MORNING NEWS: Capital markets drag Cushman down

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of industry-relevant headlines from the nationals, all perfectly curated to set you up for the day ahead. A tale of two consultants as the second of the big global agents releases its Q2 earnings. Where CBRE saw revenue rise by more than 8%, Cushman & Wakefield has reported a 5% decline. And where CBRE saw a much better than anticipated performance from property sales (albeit of the big green giant that means capital markets and mortgage origination) with revenue down by just 3%, at Cushman, revenue from its capital markets segment was down by 15%. But that didn’t stop chief executive Michelle MacKay with her fighting talk. She claimed a solid set of results and said the business was now laser focused on paying down its debt and delivering growth.  “Our strategy for growth and the allocation of capital to drive our business forward is predicated on the philosophy that the world of commercial real estate has fundamentally changed, and if we want to win, old playbooks must be thrown out,” said MacKay. “The way that we approach and engage with clients incorporates a more integrated built world. Silos must be broken down and the enterprise must be connected in the way that we recruit talent, manage relationships and invest in our portfolio of services.” MacKay said she saw “huge potential” for Cushman and the “more connected way” it was now operating. Over at SEGRO, chief executive David Sleath is feeling equally powered up for H2 as he outlines plans to build a major data centre portfolio. Data centres now account for 10% of SEGRO’s asset base and Sleath believes the sector offers a “1.2GW future opportunity” for the REIT “We’ve got this incredible opportunity, [in Slough] and elsewhere,” Sleath told EG. “The demand has been supercharged because of AI and the only constraint, frankly, is the speed at which we can get sites ready with power and planning consent to be able to meet that demand. I cannot ever remember a time when it is literally ‘build it and they will come’.” Positivity is contagious, with many now predicting that the floodgates holding back the great wall of capital eyeing the UK might be about to give in. Fresh research from BLME found that Gulf investors were ready to splash the cash in the UK as it entered a “once-in-a-decade economic alignment”. BLME predicts an uptick of more than £3bn of investment from the region, with a particular focus on the living sectors. Re:shape is certainly doubling down on the sector. As revealed by EG, the alternative living developer and operator has bought a second site in Woolwich, SE18,  enabling it to piece together a £500m-plus development that will comprise at least 918 student beds, 410 co-living homes and 100 affordable homes. Elsewhere Jefferies analyst Mike Prew has uttered the words that will be music to every listed landlord’s ears, with a proposal to drop NAV from its research notes. “NAVs are still the REIT lingua franca as UK real estate is mostly leveraged on bank debt and sensitive to LTV covenants, whereas US and [European] REITs make more use of the bond market,” Jefferies said. “We think something is being lost in translation and NAVs don’t appear to be the concrete ceilings on deal making they used to be.” And today is the day consultation on the NPPF is opened and secretary of state Angela Rayner outlines her plans to get Britain building again. Real estate will be looking for some sensible changes to help speed up the system, reduce red tape and make development more viable.  Plus a date for your diary: 30 October will see new chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget. Could this be the one where the property sector gets its voice heard? All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals: Growth is key focus for Cushman boss MacKay’Supercharged’: SEGRO fires up data centre driveNAV no more? Jefferies weighs dropping data from notesDeveloper plans double office-to-hotel conversion in Square MileObayashi and Sellar lodge Gracechurch Street tower plansM&G seeks buyer for M25 industrial estateGuildford and Waverley Councils appoint strategic directorsRevenue drops by 5% at CushmanCIM Group rescues Round Hill Capital with fresh financeResidents back council plan for £500m Canning Town Estate regenerationHeadwinds put Golden Triangle lab pipeline under pressureHub grows acquisitions team with JLL hireWhitbread picks contractor to deliver Manchester Premier InnKajima adds duo to logistics teamGerald Eve hires former BNP Paribas director for industrial roleBritish Land signs trio of healthcare providers for Manchester retail parkAward-winning restaurant on the menu for £8mMetric RE nabs BNP PRE director for new roleMilton Keynes gives go-ahead for 196-home schemeNational deals round-upManchester tops logistics market for rental growthCar events company revs up in CrawleyRe:shape closes in on £500m Woolwich masterplanGulf investors set to spend as UK enters ‘once-in-a-decade economic alignment’SGS appoints Unite director as chief executiveLabour to drop ‘beautiful’ from rules on housebuilding (£)ME Group cleans up with 300 new launderettes (£)McDonald’s suffers drop in sales as customers shun Big Macs (£)Retail sales fall again – will Labour’s victory reverse the trend? (£)Property funds near reckoning as €12bn gets pulled (£)