CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. acquires India affiliate

CB Richard Ellis' expansion in India comes at a time of strong economic activity, continued growth of FORTUNE 500 corporate space occupiers, loosened restrictions on foreign investment resulting in higher capital flows into real estate, and increased commercial and residential real estate development.

"GCC investors have been leading the push into India through substantial investment in residential and commercial real estate. Now with a majority owned operation in India we will be able to offer these Gulf investors, as well as others, the same quality and range of real estate services we provide here in the Middle East," commented Nicholas Maclean, Managing Director, CB Richard Ellis Middle East.

CBRE India, based in Delhi, has been the CB Richard Ellis affiliate in India since 1994, and today has a staff of over 1,000 professionals providing a full spectrum of real estate services, including Leasing, Property & Facilities Management, Investment Sales, Project Management, Consulting Services and Valuation/Appraisal.

CBRE India has executed more than 22 million sq. ft. of leasing transactions and approximately 30 million sq. ft. in project management assignments, and advises major corporations throughout the world on their real estate strategies in India. For example, CBRE India has arranged lease transactions for global companies including Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems, McAfee and JP Morgan Chase and Hewlett-Packard. CBRE India also manages 40 million sq. ft. of commercial properties and corporate facilities.

Robert Blain, President of CB Richard Ellis Asia-Pacific said: "The acquisition of CBRE India fits perfectly with our strategy of achieving the leadership position in major business centres around the world. We see India - along with China and Japan - as one of the key drivers of our growth in Asia. We have worked closely with CBRE India as our affiliate, and have now cemented even closer ties as the economy and real estate market in India continue to boom."