Cushman & Wakefield Looks Like a Long-Term CRE Consolidation Winner, if Weaker Than Large Peers

Cushman & Wakefield underwent a major transformation after the combination of DTZ, Cassidy Turley, and Cushman & Wakefield in 2015. It emerged with a broader geographical presence, incremental capabilities, and improved scale, which we view as a competitive necessity if it intends to effectively compete with larger rivals CBRE and JLL for lucrative global contracts from multinational clients. The company has benefited from secular trends in the commercial real estate services industry, growing strongly through a combination of organic investments, tuck-in acquisitions, and active recruitment of fee-earning teams. Mergers and acquisitions represent a strategic pillar in the firm's quest to become a single-source provider for the full spectrum of real estate-related services across a truly global footprint.