CBRE UK

The UK arm of the world's largest commercial property services group, which traces its UK roots to a London business set up in 1773.

About CBRE UK

CBRE advises and works with companies that own, rent or run commercial property such as offices, warehouses, shops and data centres. In its latest organisation it has four business areas: advisory, which covers leasing, sales, lending and valuations; building operations and experience, which covers running buildings, flexible space and critical infrastructure; project management; and real estate investments, which covers investment management and development. Its UK press materials say the group employs more than 14,000 people across its UK companies.

The UK story begins in 1773, when William Ellis set up in London at 126 Fenchurch Street as an upholder, appraiser and undertaker. His nephew Richard Ellis took over in 1809 and built the firm into one of the UK's leading property services companies. That firm later became part of the global business now called CBRE, whose American predecessor started in San Francisco in 1906. In 2023 CBRE marked 250 years since its UK start with a press release and a pledge to plant 250 elm trees across Greater London over five years with the charity Elms4London.

CBRE's mission, on its global culture page, is to "realize the potential in all of the businesses and people we work with". Its values spell RISE: respect, integrity, service and excellence. For example, it says integrity means putting an ethical commitment above any single person, deal or client. In the UK, its leader at the time of the 250-year press release, Ciaran Bird, said the ethos is to help create a sustainable future for all, and the company has pledged to reach net zero by 2040.

The pages we could read do not list individual UK offices, but Companies House records several UK CBRE companies, including CBRE Central London (General Partner) Limited, and the company's history is rooted in London's City. The group says it has more than 155,000 professionals in over 100 countries, though its UK release gave a different global figure of about 115,000, so treat the numbers as approximate. It also reports being named a World's Most Ethical Company by Ethisphere for 11 years in a row, which is the company's own claim.

Because CBRE runs buildings as well as selling and letting them, its UK workforce includes surveyors, agents, valuers, analysts, project and facilities managers, engineers, energy and sustainability specialists, and staff in finance, legal, human resources and technology. Maths, geography, economics and business studies are useful starting points. For current roles, look at the CBRE UK website.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Leasing, sales, lending and valuations for commercial property.', 'title': 'Advisory'}
• {'desc': 'Running buildings, flexible workspace and critical infrastructure.', 'title': 'Building operations and experience'}
• {'desc': 'Managing construction and fit-out projects and tracking their costs.', 'title': 'Project management'}

Key facts

• UK roots go back to William Ellis in 1773, at 126 Fenchurch Street, London
• Group employs more than 14,000 people across its UK companies (company press release)
• Values are respect, integrity, service and excellence (RISE)
• Has pledged to reach net zero by 2040

Website: www.cbre.co.uk