MUMBAI: Cushman & Wakefield is planning to expand its India headcount by hiring 500 staff by the end of 2017 to focus on project management, leasing and land transactions, said a top executive. The international property consultant currently has 2,800 employees in India, including 200 who joined in the past few months.
Cushman & Wakefield has 11 offices across Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.
“We are strengthening our services, specially adding to those teams that are expected to see a greater growth momentum. We want to be market-ready as we see the Indian economy sitting on a cusp of exponential growth, propelled by the global economic advancements and Indian political initiatives,” said Anshul Jain, its India managing director.
Property consultants’ hiring plan indicates expected growth in workflow from realty developers and landlords. At Cushman & Wakefield, workforce expansion will not only focus on individual hiring, but also team acquisitions to add specialised services.
According to Jain, growth is expected to return to the realty sector in the next 18 months. He anticipates total commercial leasing to be around 60 million sq ft by the end of 2017, and development activities to cross 50 million sq ft in commercial segment.
“Our preparedness for this growth will help us capture greater market share. To support our growth, we have made some strategic hires across leasing, asset services and project management business,” he said.
With real estate investment trusts also expected to take off by next year, the consultant is gearing up for the increased potential for professional asset services. It is planning to hire more than 200 site employees to cater to the growth in the asset services and facilities management business in 2017.