In today’s evolving office market, investors face a complex matrix of decisions, balancing financial performance, tenant experience, ESG imperatives, and long-term asset value. Navigating this landscape requires more than intuition; it demands strategic clarity and technical precision.
That’s where Development & Commercial Advisory (DCA) comes in.
What Is DCA?
DCA is a specialist advisory service within Cushman & Wakefield’s Project & Development Services (PDS) platform. It empowers investors, developers, and asset managers with integrated strategic, technical, and commercial guidance across the full asset lifecycle, from site selection and feasibility to delivery oversight and operational optimization.
As your strategic partner, DCA helps answer critical questions such as:
- Is this site aligned with our investment thesis?
- What delivery model best balances risk, speed, and cost?
- How do we manage CapEx, optimise returns and future-proof the asset?
- What risks could impact performance and how do we mitigate them?
For Office Investors, DCA provides a structured approach to:
- Development Strategy: Aligning vision with commercial outcomes through site analysis, scenario planning, and governance frameworks.
- Feasibility & Business Case Development: Validating viability with market intelligence, ROI modelling, and stakeholder alignment.
- Technical Due Diligence: Identify risks, validate asset integrity and ensure informed investment decisions through expert assessment of design, compliance, cost, and performance.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Driving board approvals and tenant buy-in through transparent management reporting and structured communications.
- Full Service Commercial Management: Integrated quantity surveying that accelerates delivery, sharpens cost control and brings independent insight to every construction dollar spent.
- Procurement Strategy: Designing delivery models and contract frameworks that balance risk, together with supporting cost certainty and operational priorities.
- CapEx & Lifecycle Planning: Forecasting capital exposure and evaluating long-term value through ESG-aligned lifecycle modelling.
- Replacement Cost Valuations: Ensuring assets have full reconstruction coverage, aligned with current construction market costs, through to the final day of the redevelopment programme.
Why It Matters
Office assets today must deliver more than occupancy; they must support talent attraction, sustainability goals, and operational efficiency. DCA enables investors to assess these dimensions early, reducing risk and enhancing performance.
For example, for the Singapore Sports Hub, a landmark 25-year PPP, our team delivered integrated advisory services including feasibility studies, lifecycle modelling and upgrade planning, ensuring sustained stakeholder value. In Mumbai, we supported Deutsche Bank’s office expansion with technical due diligence, CapEx planning, and fit-out strategy, delivered within four weeks to meet global board deadlines. We have also provided Opex Benchmarking for an international property investor across their portfolio of assets, including offices, reflecting current practice and addressing the value proposition of alternative models to suit local markets.
How DCA Adds Value
By combining financial modelling, stakeholder alignment, and delivery oversight, DCA helps investors:
- Make confident acquisition and divestment decisions
- Optimize capital deployment across asset classes
- Future-proof assets against regulatory and market shifts
- Align development outcomes with long-term investment goals
Whether you're planning a new office development, repositioning an existing asset, or evaluating a mixed-use opportunity, DCA provides the clarity and confidence to move forward.