The Crown Estate appoints Cushman & Wakefield to manage its £1.5bn regional portfolio

4 Apr, 2012, London

The Crown Estate has appointed Cushman & Wakefield to provide property management services for its £1.5 billion Regional Portfolio.

The contract for provision of property management services will be granted for a period of five years during which Cushman & Wakefield will provide property and facilities management, together with finance and business support. In addition the team will work with The Crown Estate in implementing its sustainability strategy for the portfolio.

The contract will be led by Anne Rush, Partner, within the Property and Asset Management Department, who joined Cushman & Wakefield in September 2010, having previously been National Property Manager for The Mall Fund, Capital & Regional Plc. The instruction will be supported by the firm's property and asset management teams based in the London, Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland.

During the last four years The Crown Estate's Director of Investment, Paul Clark has led a rebalancing of its urban portfolio, to focus it on areas where the business retains both critical mass and specialist expertise. The Crown Estate's regional property portfolio is now focused on prime regional retail properties, which total over £1 billion, with nearly £500 million of this invested in the sector in the last four years. Its core West End holdings, Regent Street and St James?s remain a focus and Cushman and Wakefield already provide property management services to the Regent Street Portfolio under the Regent Street Direct brand.

Jenny Mulligan, Regional Portfolio Manager for The Crown Estate said: "Cushman & Wakefield put together an excellent proposal to manage our strategically important Regional Portfolio and build on the relationship we have developed with them on Regent Street since 2003. The portfolio has been at the centre of our strategy to rebalance our commercial assets and we have invested significantly in both prime retail assets and the in-house and outsourced skills to ensure the portfolio continues to outperform."

Bryan Laxton, CEO, Cushman & Wakefield UK: "This is a significant portfolio to which we are honoured to have been appointed. The Regional Portfolio is extensive and whilst predominantly retail, comprises a broad range of asset class with a national coverage. The appointment accords with our strategic vision to further strengthen our retail focus and national property management service line."

The Regional Portfolio totals 40 assets comprising 6.5 million sq ft and with nearly 400 direct tenants. It includes a range of industrial and office premises, together with 14 retail parks in prime regional locations, including Leeds, Slough, Portsmouth, Harlow and Nottingham. Shopping centres are also a key part of the portfolio including two 50:50 joint venture partnerships with Land Securities at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford, and the Princesshay Shopping Centre in Exeter.

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