Small beginnings to the biggest

After several months of groundwork the merger between CB Richard Ellis and the Insignia Financial Group was finally sealed last month. Warsaw's CB RE watched intently as the terms of agreement were being negotiated in the USA

"I always imagined that I would go on working for a modest player confined to its market niche," admits Nigel Wade, Managing Director of CB RE in Warsaw. "I had no idea that one day we'd be part of a mighty corporation, emerging out of CB Richard Ellis and Insignia."

Eve of growth
It all started with Jan Chudzynski (currently an independent property advisor), who came to Poland with the Dautons Soar real estate company to valuate a number of industrial units in the late eighties. He created the Dautons Gerald Eve branch, which in turn spawned Gerald Eve International which as well as Jan Chudzynski, employed Włodzimierz Kocon (now of the Von der Heyden Group) and Teresa Błazejewska (still with CB Richard Ellis). In 1994, the team was joined by John Palmer, now one of CB Richard Ellis' managing directors.
Gerald Eve International's clients included PepsiCo, Trading/PepsiCo Poland (Pizza Hut and KFC), General Bottlers, Creditanstalt, City Bank and Amocco and they were provided with investment consultancy, valuations, market analysis and advice about suitable locations for their properties.

Snowballing
In the late nineties Gerald Eve developed a new structure. Firstly in 1997 Amocco, GEI's biggest client, pulled out of the Polish market, and in 1998, GEI merged with Henry Butcher Poland, founding Henry Butcher Poland in association with Gerald Eve International, which was managed by Brian Burgess, Nigel Wade and John Palmer.
Henry Butcher had been operating in Poland for several years prior to the merger, its Poland branch having been established by Jasz Lozinski, who was commissioned by Skanska to conduct a profitability analysis of the first stage of Atrium on Al. Jana Pawła in Warsaw. That was in 1991. Later other companies, such as TP S.A., British Steel, ProLogis Rida Development and Stalexport, used its services.

Branching out
As Gerald Eve International was merging with Henry Butcher, CB Richard Ellis, another international player, surfaced on the market. It worked together with Prime Property, a company which operated on the housing market. However, PP's narrow specialization prompted Ewen Hill, CB RE Director for Central and Eastern Europe, to seek another partner. His choice was the small but buoyant Henry Butcher agency.
Finally, in July 2000, following turbulent negotiations, CB Richard Ellis Polska was registered. What remained of HB was its management team, John Palmer and Nigel Wade as Directors and Brian Burgess as Managing Director, though the latter left the company the following year and his position was taken over by the hitherto directors.
"I admit that we found it difficult at first to adjust to working within the framework of a large corporation," says Nigel Wade. "But once we adapted to all the systems and procedures we began to appreciate having a powerful partner. In reality, you can function within a particular niche and be adequately successful or become a corporate player and enjoy the grand-scale achievements. We chose the latter scenario."

Forever young
Since 2000, CB Richard Ellis has vastly extended its scope of services (to 10 specialized departments) and its number of staff (to 300). They have done so not only because of the earlier merger but also because of the growing competition among agents operating on the Polish market and increasingly demanding clients.
"We're still a young company in what is still a young market," says Nigel Wade, "and haven't yet used our full potential."
Although it will have a more direct impact on the countries where CB Richard Ellis and Insignia have already been working closely together, their merger, finalized in July, will be a perfect opportunity for the Warsaw team to display their full potential, worthy of the "largest real estate company". It also opens up new possibilities such as providing services to those of Insignia's corporate clients, who might be keen on entering the Polish market.

Quantity isn't quality
It is difficult to imagine now what further stages of transformation CB RE may yet undergo. When asked how he sees the company five years from now, Nigel Wade says: "What counts is not quantity but quality, so unless the market situation demands it, I doubt that we'll employ a huge number of staff. Indeed, our intention is to focus on developing those who are with us already."