CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (CBRE) announces that it has opened an office in Helsinki, Finland, further expanding its network and capabilities in the Nordic region. The new office represents another significant development in the growth of CBRE's presence in the Nordics. CBRE already has wholly-owned offices in Sweden and Denmark, together with a long-term affiliate office in Norway.
Opening in Finland will also extend CBRE's leadership in the European corporate services sector, and support a number of significant contract wins CBRE has recently gained in the Nordics. Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones and Finland's largest corporate, recently named CBRE as their exclusive global strategic real estate advisor, for services including transaction management, brokerage and lease administration across 60 countries worldwide.
CBRE has also been appointed by StatoilHydro ASA, one of the largest offshore oil and gas companies in the world and the largest company by revenue in the Nordic region, as its preferred global real estate provider of transaction and project management services across 40 countries.
CBRE will maintain an alliance with Realia Management Oy, who will remain a preferred supplier of valuation services for CBRE in Finland. Mark Creamer, Executive Director, Valuation Services EMEA, commented: "We have been delighted with the valuation services provided by Realia Management Oy and with their collaboration on demanding international valuation assignments. Realia Management has excellent local expertise and the ability to meet CBRE's international quality requirements."
CBRE has appointed Veijo Saarinen as the Head of Global Corporate Services and Transactional Services, Finland. A respected member of the Finnish commercial real estate community, with over 25 years' experience in the financial and real estate markets, Veijo will take responsibility for establishing CBRE's Helsinki office and spearheading the corporate and transactional services capabilities.
Mike Strong, EMEA Chairman, said: "As part of our aim to remain the leading provider of commercial real estate services in Europe, we continue to seek opportunities to further our presence across the region. The new office in Finland extends our network in this particularly important region, allowing us to combine local knowledge with a truly global platform to effectively put client needs at the heart of our operations."
CBRE's global corporate services capability has grown extensively over the past three years and is now recognised as an international leader in delivering global outsourcing solutions to multinational corporations. In 2008, CBRE's Global Corporate Services team was awarded 33 new contracts including Oracle, Zurich, Software AG, IBM and Lexmark, demonstrating CBRE's market-leading position.
Veijo Saarinen, Head of Global Corporate Services and Transactional Services, Finland, said: "CB Richard Ellis already delivers exceptional service to local and international clients across the Nordic region. The establishment of this new office in Helsinki will allow us to grow our capabilities across a range of service areas in order to meet the changing needs of clients, and to take advantage of current market conditions to grow market share in a region which offers unique opportunities and growth prospects."
In 2009, CBRE was named in the top 10 of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals' top 100 Global Outsourcing companies across all industries. CBRE is the highest-ranked commercial real estate services company and has been included in the list for three consecutive years, underscoring the firm's position as the commercial real estate industry's global outsourcing leader.
Source: FD
