Cushman’s Bastijn: ‘Volume of new capital is an eye opener’

The sheer volume of capital available in the real estate market is much bigger than most people realize, according to Jan-Willem Bastijn, head of capital markets EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield.

‘That is what has struck me the most in this job. And that has been a real eye opener.'

Bastijn took on his new responsibilities at end-April from former head Michael Rhydderch who subsequently left the firm over the summer to join Canadian firm Brookfield Property Partners. Bastijn, who formerly headed C&W’s Dutch office, will retain a base in Amsterdam and will commute weekly to London, Frankfurt and other parts of Europe where the firm is active.

In his new job, Bastijn will continue Rhydderch’s legacy in terms of integrating Cushman & Wakefield’s capital markets business into a global service line. C&W’s capital markets team will continue to be run centrally from London working with other members from C&W’s global platform led by Bastijn with support from Stephen Screene , head of capital markets in Italy. Bastijn: ‘International investors have the same requirements wherever they are active around the world. One of my biggest challenges is to make sure we maintain a consistent high level of quality in our services in pace with the growth we see.’

While Cushman & Wakefield remains one of the leaders in the retail sector, it has shifted its focus somewhat since the outbreak of the financial crisis and in Bastijn’s home market in the Netherlands, for example, has become one of the leading advisers on distressed (office) assets and portfolios. In his new capacity, Bastijn aims to roll out this specialism - involving equity raising, debt financing, loan sales and structured finance - elsewhere in Europe, he said. ‘This is a significant part of our business and will grow.’

He added that the firm has made a number of staffing changes in the past 12 months to optimize its offer. ‘We have very quietly changed and rejuvenated our leadership around Europe. We’ve had to do some restructuring in southern Europe, but we have big plans for Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic in the next 12 months.’

The company is also seeking to expand in Central London and the Nordics, particularly Sweden, he added. ‘The London market is competitive, but with a volume of around £10 bn per year, there’s enough to go round. I’m excited about the talent out there, this is a good time to recruit.’

In that sense, C&W’s partnership model contains the right balance, he claims. ‘I don’t care so much about size, I care about quality. It’s about having people in the right places, there needs to be an equilibrium. We have one profit centre. That means our partners don’t care whether a deal is done in London or in Greece. I’m a big believer in entrepreneurial spirit but without killing the partnership culture.’