_Colin Fitzgerald: introducing International Occupier Services
I may be fairly new to the role, but I’m by no means new to the world of property. In fact – and I’ll say this quickly so as not to highlight that I’m sadly no longer 21 – I’ve been at Knight Frank since 2000 and have real estate experience spanning more than three decades.
I returned to London a few years ago after an 11-year stint in Hong Kong, where I managed Knight Frank’s Hong Kong and Greater China offices and APAC Corporate Services. I absolutely loved living there (nothing compares to its bustle and incredible skyline!) but London will always be my home. So when I was offered the chance to manage the firm’s relationship with Newmark Knight Frank, our partner in the U.S., I immediately said yes. Since then, I’ve been focussing on driving cross-border occupier business and frequently travelling to the Americas to meet with Newmark Knight Frank brokers and clients.
But that’s enough of my past. Onto the present; what the team is doing now and, more importantly, how our occupier platform could assist with your commercial property requirements.
The International Occupier Services team (previously known as EMEA Tenant Representation) focusses on cross-border business flows and managing our multi-market clients. To put it simply, we administer leases, manage transactions and provide consulting and management services to organisations that require regionally coordinated services. We work with some very exciting clients; Citi, DLA Piper, Qlik. Pinsent Masons, Gilead, Wood Group, BBC Worldwide, the list goes on…
It’s a busy and exciting time. International firms are capitalising on the current strong US economy to expand their presences; inbound business to the US has seen a marked up-turn in the past two years and US global business flows continue to grow at 20% each year.
The action isn’t limited to America, either. We continue to work with clients in markets across EMEA, such as Moscow, Madrid and Kinshasa, to deliver solutions. We have an incredibly diverse client base, so finding quality solutions tailored to each client’s needs in the relevant markets is hugely challenging – but it’s also hugely satisfying.
It’s not only the markets that are busy; my next few months are set to involve countless flights. In September I’ll be flying to Canada (with a quick stopover in New York – I can never resist the big apple!) to attend our annual Canadian partners conference. After that, it’s a quick return to London before heading to Amsterdam for a European Occupier board meeting and then onto somewhere slightly further afield: Brazil and Argentina. Business flows both into and out of South America are increasing, so now is a good time to visit the Newmark Knight Frank teams there and find out more.
Following that, I’ll be spending a week in Hong Kong for a conference in Asia in November, before coming back to London for the tech and finance conference attended by brokers from America and around the world. It’s safe to say that my role lives up to its ‘international’ title!
That’s all from me for now, but I hope I’ve given you an insight into International Occupier Services and I’ll keep you updated on how my various trips go over my future blog posts! If you’d like to find out more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team.