Donaldsons, one of Europe's leading Shopping Centre Consultants, has opened its first office in Turkey, in Istanbul.
Bob Addison,
Managing Director
Donaldsons is one of the leading independent Property Consultants in the UK with its Head Office in central London, seven regionally located offices and operates in over 20 countries across Europe. Since 2004 and in response to Client's requests Donaldsons has embarked on a programme of European expansion which sees them in operation in 20 countries throughout Europe.
Turkey
The latest addition to the network is Turkey. Donaldsons Turkey has been appointed by Rönesans Construction to manage their highly successful 40,000-m² Optimum Outlet Centre in Ankara.
The Managing Director of Donaldsons Turkey, Bob Addison, is a Chartered Surveyor and vastly experienced in international real estate. He started his international career in Dubai in 1984 when it was an emerging market, then on to Bahrain for ten years before being a one of the first Asset Managers in Central and Eastern Europe in the mid 1990s when countries such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic were opening up. Other countries also beckoned such as Russia, Kuwait and Egypt where he spent two years on the 7.5-million ft² Citystars project in Heliopolis.
He is excited by the challenge and opportunities that Turkey offers. "During the mid to late 1990's I was carrying out the occasional assignment in Turkey but the country has now developed into one of the most exciting markets in the world. Turkey is an important market for Donaldsons. The rapid pace of development and the race to secure tenants is both exciting and risky. Investors need to minimize their exposure to risk. Poorly designed shopping centres date very quickly, and become disproportionately expensive to run. This will have a negative effect on the investment value and the ability of the tenants to continue to pay their rent."
Source: Donaldsons
