DTZ on target as hopes of a recovery rise
PROPERTY broker DTZ Holdings yesterday said it remains on target to meet market expectations for its full year results, anticipating £70m of cost savings for the period.
Boosting hopes of recovery in the sector, DTZ reported better levels of activity in its key markets of London and Paris and increased activity in the investment and occupier markets in the UK and Ireland, led by central London. Within the London market, DTZ advised Macquarie Bank on the acquisition of 217,000 sq ft of space at British Land’s Ropemaker Place in the City. The group’s retail team has also been involved in a clutch of high-profile deals across the UK during the period, including advising Hammerson on its £297m joint venture purchase of Glasgow’s Silverburn Shopping Centre.
DTZ also cited strong performances to date from its businesses in Asia Pacific, particularly in China where it has been involved in a number of major investment deals. In a trading statement the company – which operates in 148 cities and employs 10,000 people, said: “It is encouraging to report that in certain markets we see signs of growing confidence and activity, a trend we highlighted in our half year results in December.
“However, while there are signs of recovery in some areas of our industry it is too early to determine to what extent this recovery will be sustained, particularly while wider economic uncertainty remains.”
DTZ is headed by Paul Idzik, a former banker at Barclays who took over as chief executive in 2008 at a time when the once-mighty group was reeling from the market slump and forced to ask shareholders for funding to help meet its working capital requirements.