Cushman & Wakefield to open an office in Finland

13 Nov, 2006, Helsinki

Global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield has announced that it is to open an office in the Finnish capital Helsinki in spring 2007. The office, which will be led by Markus Gylling, currently Cushman & Wakefield's Investment Consultant in Finland, will offer a full range of property services.

The announcement of Cushman & Wakefield's new office comes at a time when the Finnish market is increasingly coming under the gaze of cross-border investors, and is forecasting a record level of investment.

Robert Lipscomb, international managing partner, Cushman & Wakefield, says: "By having our own office in Finland, Cushman & Wakefield will be in a position to expand the services that it offers both its Finnish and international clients in what is one of Europe’s most dynamic markets. The decision is also part of our growth as a firm across Europe in response to the needs of our clients."

Cushman & Wakefield currently has 59 offices in 31 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The firm's turnover in EMEA increased by 28% in 2005 to £164mn (2004: £128mn), accounting for 23% of the firm's global revenues which in turn were up by 21% to $1.2bn in 2005 (2004: $1bn).

Markus Gylling was appointed as Cushman & Wakefield's investment consultant in Finland in 2005. Prior to that he was head of corporate finance at Finland's Handelsbanken Investment Banking. Markus works closely with Cushman & Wakefield's cross-border Capital Markets Group, led by Michael Rhydderch.

Regarding the Finnish market, Markus Gylling comments: "The Finnish investment market has traditionally been dominated by domestic institutions, in particular the pension funds and insurance companies. The market is now opening up as these Finnish players look to diversify their portfolios by investing outside Finland, and more international investment is flowing in."

The attraction of the Finnish investment market is the relative transparency of the market and the high yields; the headline prime retail yield in Helsinki is 5.75% (June 2006) compared with the average in Western Europe of 4.5%.

The volume of investment deals in Finland is expected to reach a record €5bn this year, 78% up on 2005. As a result, Finland will see its share of the total European investment market increase from 1.7% to 2.4%, edging it up from 9th to 8th place on an overall country basis.

The buoyant investment market is underpinned by Finland's economic success. Finland, like the Nordic region as a whole, is seeing faster economic growth than the European Union (EU) average. Last year, Finland's economy grew by 3.0 per cent, compared with an EU average of just 1.7 per cent, and this year it is set to grow 4.0 per cent compared with 2.7 per cent for the EU. One of the main drivers of the Finnish economy is the growth of the neighbouring Russian economy, with many Finnish companies expanding their operations into the Russian market.

The office rental market is also likely to be ahead of the EU average in terms of the growth cycle, with rents currently growing in line with the EU average (3.7% in the year to June) but with stronger growth expected over the next year or two.

Cushman & Wakefield's Finnish office will work closely with the firm's other offices in the Nordic region. C&W has its own office in Sweden, and Associate offices in Norway (Mork & Partners) and Denmark (RED).

The opening of Cushman & Wakefield's office in Finland brings an end to a successful cooperation over the past two years with its Finnish Associate Office Yritysresurssit.

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