India is a crucial part of Colliers’ global business growth strategy, as the country is currently the fifth largest economy in the world and is predicted to become a $US 5.4 trillion economy in the next few years, moving into third place.
With more than 3,000 people working under the leadership of Colliers India Chairman & Managing Director ,Sankey Prasad, Colliers India is now one of the top three largest Colliers businesses in the Asia Pacific region.
Colliers’ global leadership made its first visit to India after several years, led by Chief Executive Officer of Real Estate Services Global, Chris McLernon and Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific, John Kenny, which reflects their trust in India’s growth story and potential.
Since 2004, Colliers has achieved more than 15% compound annual revenue growth, a level of growth greater than the rate of market growth. The company deployed a record US$1 billion in acquisitions in 2022 to strengthen its businesses and has made several appointments to its Asia Pacific leadership bench in the last six months.
Colliers is committed to developing and investing in state-of-the-art technology solutions to streamline processes and facilitate improved decision-making. The company is also focused on building a diverse workforce, with a target of having 40% female employees overall and in manager roles. In India, Colliers is planning to increase its women in the workforce by 15% year on year.
With its ambitious growth aspirations and focus on innovation, Colliers is on track to meet its targets and strengthen its position as a market leader in India and the Asia Pacific region.
Inspiring growth aspirations
By the end of 2025, Colliers aspires to more than double its profitability from 2020, with at least 65% of earnings coming from recurring revenues.
Colliers is one of the fastest growing major, global diversified professional real estate services and investment management companies in the world, with annual revenues of US$4.5 billion.
Strategic acquisitions
Colliers has scaled up its recurring and long-duration revenue streams, plus bolstered its engineering and design and project management segments with acquisitions in the U.S., Australia and the UK.
In Australia, Colliers launched its Engineering & Design service line in Australia by acquiring PEAKURBAN and most recently, Craig & Rhodes. Colliers also expanded its project management capabilities in New Zealand by acquiring Greenstone.
The company is pursuing more high-value acquisitions across the Asia Pacific region with a focus on India where project management continues to be a key growth area.
Chris McLernon – Sankey Prasad and John Kenny
Building scale
Colliers has made several appointments to its Asia Pacific leadership bench in the last six months who have joined a global team of experts.
In February, Mike Davis, who has 20 years of leaderships experience in global commercial real estate roles, joined Colliers as Managing Director of Occupier Services for Asia Pacific. In November 2022, the company appointed Chris Pilgrim as Managing Director of Global Capital Markets for Asia Pacific. Both Davis and Pilgrim are now based in Asia.
Sankey Prasad joined Colliers India as Managing Director in September 2019 following Colliers’ acquisition of a controlling interest in Synergy, India’s leading project management services company, of which Sankey Prasad was founder and Chairman. Synergy is now merged with Colliers in India.
“Sankey plays a key role in driving Colliers’ growth strategy to build size and scale in India. This includes increasing headcount to meet client needs — this has been a focus for the team in India where we have doubled the size of our brokerage business in the last few years and we are now looking to do so in the other lines,” said Kenny.
Make culture count
Colliers has also pushed for a more diverse workforce, including better representation of women. Globally, Colliers is targeting to have 40% female employees overall and in manager+ roles. Approximately 80% of Colliers businesses in the Asia Pacific region already have achieved this target.
“We’ve made a conscious effort to have a balanced workforce. It’s important for the future of our business and also a fair reflection of the quality and standard of talent in this marketplace,” continued Kenny. “Fundamentally, our aim is to attract and retain quality talent, which will help us serve clients better and strengthen our position as a market leader in India and Asia Pacific more broadly.”
Sankey Prasad added, “Our workplace strategy prioritizes the health and wellbeing of our people; we function out of best-in-class offices that are conveniently located and equipped with new-age amenities. Our One BKC office in Mumbai has recently been awarded LEED Platinum status.”
Innovating with technology
Colliers is committed to developing and investing in state-of-the-art technology solutions to streamline processes and facilitate improved decision-making, including data management and advisory services.
The company is strategically investing in emerging technology companies to help transform the industry and give its professionals and clients a competitive edge. The Colliers portfolio includes over 20 leading emerging technology companies.
India real estate market overview
The year started with caution amidst looming global recession, geopolitical tensions, and the resulting slowdown in certain sectors have put pressure on the India real estate market. At the same time, India’s economic outlook for this year remains optimistic, led by buoyancy in consumption and investment. While 2022 was a record year for office leasing led by pent-up demand and market recovery, 2023 began on a guarded note in line with the sectoral trends, especially technology.
During Q1 2023, India’s office market registered a 19% YoY decline in Grade A leasing activity across the top six cities at 10.1 million sq. ft. Interestingly, leasing by flex space operators in Q1 2023 inched closer to that of technology companies for the first time ever, with 2.1 million sq. ft. accounting for a 20% share, slightly behind the technology sector’s share at 22%.
During Q1 2023, investment activity in the global markets remained subdued relative to previous years. However, the India investment sentiment remains promising primarily due to investors’ continued interest in core assets.
Institutional investments in Indian real estate remained strong during Q1 2023 at US$1.7 billion, led by the office sector, lending an optimistic outlook for the year. Investment inflows in office sector rose by 41% YoY at US$0.9 billion, led by select large deals.
Sankey Prasad concluded, “Colliers in India has grown exponentially over the last three years. The appointment of several top industry leaders is enabling us to push boundaries and lead the business into the future. In addition to our profitable service lines like Capital Markets, Investment Services and Project Management, we have also added micro-specializations such as Data Centers and ESG services.
Furthermore, we have made successful inroads into secondary markets like Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Indore and Jaipur. Being India’s fastest-growing international property consulting firm, Colliers is set to witness a marquee year in revenue and profitability.”
