With approximately 52,000 employees in 60 countries, Cushman & Wakefield is one of the world's largest property-focused services firms, offering expertise such as consulting, research, broking and valuation.
The company's Middle East arm is currently mainly active in the UAE market, having launched in Dubai in 2008 and expanded into Abu Dhabi in 2015. With the latest foray, Cushman & Wakefield's regional team is now eyeing further expansion in Egypt, as well as surrounding markets in MENA and Africa.
"We are pleased to extend the delivery of our services into a market in which we did not previously have a branded presence," said Colin Wilson, Chief Executive for EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield. "This expansion will benefit both local and global clients who gain access to our global network and local knowledge respectively."
The expansion comes at a time of growth for the commercial and residential real estate sector in Egypt. According to research by another real estate firm, Cairo's real estate landscape alone is set to welcome real estate investments of over $20 billion in the coming years, with $16 billion dedicated to the residential sector, attesting to heightened demand for housing.
A growing chunk of those investments are flowing into the county from the GCC, with wealthy investors earmarking Egypt for its attractive outlook.
"Given Egypt's role as a gateway to Africa, coupled with strong investment ties between the UAE and Egyptian real estate markets, we are excited to be adding Egypt to our footprint," said Edward Macura, Co-CEO of Cushman & Wakefield Core (the firm's property broking division).
"This move brings an exciting new dynamic to the expanding Egyptian real estate market, enabling us to support our regional and international clients locally, while also delivering to our Egyptian clients a wide array of services, ranging from research, consultancy, capital markets, sales & leasing, asset management, property management and global occupier services."
Cushman & Wakefield joins other leading real estate consultancies with a base in Cairo, including CBRE, JLL, and Knight Frank, as well as the real estate arms of global management consulting groups including the Big Four.