Savills, one of the world’s leading real estate advisors, is expanding its range of services and will, for the first time, be offering building and project consultancy services across its Middle East operations.

The building and project consultancy team will provide support to developers and other stakeholders when planning, building, operating and managing properties.

The global agency has hired an experienced specialist team, which will aim to tap into a growing regional market which sees technology and future-oriented businesses leading the demand for commercial office space.

Over recent months, the regional market has seen significant inbound expansion and investment from businesses including Microsoft, Amazon, Uber, Facebook, Spotify, Snapchat and Oracle.

The new Building and Project Consultancy team will be led by Simon Denham, who founded the boutique consultancy CapS Project Management earlier this year.

Denham was previously the head of Corporate Real Estate within the Project and Development Services department at JLL Mena. During this time, Simon led a team that was responsible for delivering prestigious commercial fit-outs for both local and international clients.

The team will also benefit from the expertise and specialist skillset of Max Hughes, who joins as Director - Project and Cost Management and Heidi Salama, an experienced Project Manager who will be based in Egypt.

Savills has seven offices in five countries across the region and has been providing consultancy, property management and agency services to clients for over 40 years.

The introduction of the Building and Project Consultancy service line naturally complements the work that Savills already does on behalf of global corporate occupiers, government entities, regional businesses and family offices, said the company in its statement.

Over 50% of Savills business across the Middle East relates to property management and leasing of office and retail assets for clients such as Bahrain World Trade Centre, Arkan Cairo and Riyadh Front.
The opportunity to also manage the design, fit-out, project and cost management of those spaces for incoming tenants offers a clear synergy, it stated.

On his appointment, Denham, said: "There is a significant opportunity to complement the excellent tenant representation work that Savills has been doing for many years, with a bespoke service line that addresses the needs of a changing market."

"Office fit-out is a rapidly changing sector and has moved from the traditional corporate world of banked desks and bland interiors, to practical spaces that encourage flexibility and creativity within working environments," he stated.

"No two companies are the same and the Middle East is a young, vibrant region where there is a real demand for offices to match the characteristics of the next generation of employees who are shaping today’s business environment," he added.

Welcoming the new team, Middle East CEO Steve Morgan said Savills was committed to adding new beneficial service lines for its clients.

"Bringing best-in-class experts like Denham, Hughes and Salama, who have a client-centric ethos, under the Savills umbrella complements the work we have been doing for many years throughout the region within both our Commercial Agency teams and our Global Occupier Team," he stated.

"We have been considering this Building and Project Consultancy service line for a while and with so many large scale commercial assets now under our management across the region, the time is right for expansion into this sector," he added.

Morgan pointed out that this was another chapter in Savills' continued growth across the Mena region.

"Our business has expanded by 30% in the last twelve months which reflects our confidence and commitment to invest. We continue to look for areas in which the Global Savills brand and expertise can be introduced within our region to the benefit of our clients," he added.-TradeArabia News Service