C&W launches office consolidation practice

Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has launched a new practice aimed at helping office-dwelling clients shed their unused operating space, the company announced today.

Despite positive indicators in the nationwide office market the Corporate Disposition Practice was born out of necessity, according to Richard Ingwers, a Cushman vice chairman based in Northern California. After helping several large clients divest of their unused office space, Ingwers said Cushman decided to make it a separate practice within the company. Ingwers declined to comment on the division’s specific clients.

But while the program seems tailor-made for the recession era, Ingwers said that he believes the practice is appropriate for all financial times.

“[The financial downturn] brought it to the forefront right now [but] it’s not just a recession-driven program,” Ingwers said, noting that during boom times, companies’ rapidly changing staff rosters would demand a similar program.

No new employees have been hired to manage the practice, Ingwers said. Rather, existing employees will take on the task on top of their existing roles.

“We’re really leveraging and using all the teams that are in place — we haven’t pulled anyone out of their respective discipline,” Ingwers said.

The company plans to works closely with its capital market program, which helps buyers identify office real estate investment opportunities. Ingwers said he’s optimistic that having those two divisions work together will create an efficient means of selling off underused office properties.

Cushman has been confronting numerous challenges in recent months, as The Real Deal reported in its July print issue. In February, the firm saw Glenn Rufrano take over as CEO after Bruce Mosler stepped down, just weeks before the company’s top sales team split for Jones Lang LaSalle.