NY-based real estate firm bullish on Phl market

MANILA, Philippines - Nine years ago, Joe Curran travelled thousands of miles to the Philippines for his internship. As a Commerce student at the University College Cork in Ireland, Joe’s only idea of the country was that “there were a lot of Irish priests doing missionary work.” He eventually joined an international real estate services provider in the country.

“At 22, I didn’t know anything about the Philippines or Asia in general,” recalls Joe, who couldn’t say “No” to the internship because he was very keen to learn new things.

Today, Joe is an expert on the Philippines—the real estate industry, in particular. As the general manager of Cushman & Wakefield Philippines, he provides leadership to the global firm and its growing business operations.

“I feel proud to represent a company like Cushman & Wakefield,” says Joe, who found himself at a crossroad in 2012 when he got the chance to take his MBA in Barcelona. But because of his great deal of knowledge on the local market and vast experience in real estate consulting and leasing strategies (with particular emphasis on occupiers within the BPO industry), Joe was asked to come in to head the Manila office of Cushman & Wakefield.

The company, founded in 1917 in New York City, is the world’s largest privately-held commercial real estate firm with operations in 60 countries. Cushman & Wakefield delivers customized services and solutions through advising, implementing and managing on behalf of facility owners, tenants, and investors in every stage of the real estate process.

“To be a general manager of a multinational corporation is an opportunity you don’t get many times in your lifetime. The more I researched about it, the more I learned how strong Cushman & Wakefield is as a brand. The fact that it is a wholly-owned office was a big attraction to me. So I was already sold at that time. It was an easy ‘Yes’,” says Joe of his decision last year to accept the challenge of setting up Cushman & Wakefield in the Philippines. 

Joe’s many tasks include advising a diverse range of clients—from local organizations to Fortune 500 companies—with large lease portfolios across the Philippines. The firm’s recent research showed that across cities in Asia, Manila witnessed the highest net absorption in the office market with approximately 356,092 sqm., thanks to the country's fast-growing outsourcing sector that drives a great percentage of the demand for office space.

He explains, “The performance of the office sector in Manila compared with other cities in the region is a testament to how strong the market is today. It is witnessing a positive momentum due to strengthening economic conditions and improved business sentiments, relatively insulated from the global slowdown. Stable growth in the BPO sector continues to fuel office expansions in Metro Manila.”

According to Joe, Cushman & Wakefield’s research also showed that incoming office supply for the last quarter of 2013 until 2015 will be at 1.2 million sqm. in key areas in Metro Manila with Bonifacio Global City (BGC) accounting for 42 percent of new supply.

“With all these new trends, the real estate industry is indeed ever-changing. It’s not a one-size-fits-all business,” says Joe. “That’s why we in Cushman & Wakefield invest in customized servicing. We’ve got a great team. I have so much support from my regional bosses (CEO-Asia Pacific Sanjay Verma and Southeast Asia executive managing director Arshpreet Chaudhry). As we grow our platform here in the Philippines, we got more subject matter experts on board who are skilled in their own disciplines (director of Office Agency Tetet Castro and director of Capital Markets, Research & Consultancy Eric Manuel).”

Joe admits he has fallen in love with the Philippines so he decided to stay instead of go back to Europe to take up his masters. How does his affinity and affection for the country impact his dealings with clients? “I think that I bring a level of enthusiasm which is genuine and heartfelt. A lot of times, the clients that we interface with, it might be their first time in the Philippines and they might be evaluating the country versus another country. Our job is to give them an accurate and fair account of what the Philippines has to offer. So it helps when you have the genuine affinity for the country and its people. It makes it easy to sell. That enthusiasm shines through and I think clients pick up on it,” Joe says.

He is satisfied and happy with his decision to come to the Philippines nine years ago and build his career here. “The whole experience has been great. Twelve months have gone by so quickly. To be in a company like Cushman & Wakefield is a fantastic decision. I’m absolutely delighted with it,” he asserts.

Joe has indeed gone a long way from the clueless young man when he first came to the Philippines. After almost a decade here, one can never falter him for being an expat because such is his expertise on real estate in the Philippines. Not surprising though considering he represents a 96-year-old company known the world over as an industry leader.