With more than 115,000 professionals in over 100 countries, CBRE is the global leader in commercial real estate services and investment. The US-headquartered company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, provides services across a range of sectors, with a mission to design the real estate solutions of the future.
“The UK is probably the second largest part of the business within the globally operating group and includes a whole range of departments providing services for the full spectrum of the real estate market,” says Tudor Pop, a true specialist in the façade field.
With decades of experience in this very diverse and important discipline, he has the technical knowledge of both modern and traditional façade construction systems, and is able to successfully monitor any design, both technically and financially, so as to achieve the best balance between cost, time, and quality.
He points out that CBRE is the only company in the sector with an established in-house façade consultancy. Their services can include anything from façade fire risk assessment; monitoring, re-cladding; defect analysis; advice on materials and finishes; technical audits to much more, fully reflecting the client’s requirements in terms of the purpose and use of the building.
Industry-leading advice
Façade Consultancy sits under the Technical Due Diligence unit within CBRE’s Building Management department, and its diverse team of 16 engineers covers requirements from the whole of the UK, as well as the EMEA region, and even distant countries such as China and Singapore if required.
“Within the façade engineering profession, there is a very small group of engineers who deal with the real estate aspects – consultants who advise clients in terms of the transactional aspects of their asset buying, selling and refinancing, and also asset management, ” says Pop, adding that the services provided are a major contributor to the success of any project and are a significant quality differentiator.
There are only handful of companies that provide this specialisation and combined with the commercial capability of CBRE – a global real estate advisor – the client, be it a real estate owner, investor, or lender, gets the clear benefit of receiving industry-leading technical advice in the commercial context of the asset transaction or its management.
The Façade Consultancy team has participated in thousands of residential and commercial building valuations, from offices to hotels, including the largest student accommodation portfolio transaction ever completed in the UK. But Pop refuses to single out any particular deal. “Every successfully completed transaction is regarded as a great achievement,” he says.
Changing market environment
He reflects that the relevance of façade consultancy has grown significantly since the days when he started in the industry more than 20 years ago. This development has further accelerated following the Grenfell Tower disaster. “Post-Grenfell, new legislation was adopted, significantly affecting the construction sector and bringing about new, previously unknown, aspects. This has been a major factor in our industry over the last few years.”
“Sustainability is another driver that is impacting façades not only in in terms of design, but also material procurement, as well as actual building operations. And it’s not just about the energy efficiency of a new building, but also about how to recycle and reuse the materials used in existing buildings that are being refurbished.”
“There needs to be careful consideration of how these buildings, both new and existing, will be performing in five or fifty years from now,” he says, pointing out that with its extensive experience, and the vast amount of data and knowledge that the company has accumulated over the years, Façade Consultancy can see further down the line and provide clients with highly qualified advice in terms of installation, use and maintenance of their assets.
“The third factor that is much felt in our industry is cost. Grenfell, Brexit, financial crisis… adding these up will give you a pretty good picture of today’s market challenges. Everyone wants to design an iconic building with a non-combustible façade with the best sustainable credentials in the market, and – on top of that – at the lowest cost possible. A tall order.”
“A façade is an important element in the overall picture, and we always highlight this to the client. The problem is that the cost of rectifying a façade is usually much higher than of other elements of the building. In an occupied building, for example, it will be quite difficult to replace the façade entirely. You could replace or add certain components and that’s where the technical challenges come into play and, of course, cost,” he notes, affirming that here again Façade Consultancy’s expertise can make a real difference.
Global façade community
Given the ever-increasing focus on sustainability, as well as current and future financial pressures, it is fair to assume that the façade will become a much more carefully considered feature in future development projects, and this will open up new opportunities, says Pop.
“At CBRE, growth is always on the agenda, as well demonstrated by the number of major acquisitions completed since 2000. We would like to have a much bigger share of the market; not just the real estate market, but also project management and the façade consultancy market, and I believe we are heading in that direction. In line with this development, I would definitely like to see my team grow as well.”
“I would also like to see a global façade community. Within CBRE we provide similar types of services across the globe, but everyone does things slightly differently, there is no common thread. I believe the UK is the most advanced in this respect – we have the academic environment, with an MSc in Façade Engineering available at the University of the West of England in Bristol, as well as courses at other universities. We also have the experience because we were the first ones in the company to include this specific expertise in CBRE’s capabilities.”
He affirms that he is committed to promoting this global façade community concept across the business. “My dream would be to have that community expand at a global scale.”
