Services
Strategic Consulting
Real estate questions are rarely just about real estate. They are business decisions that shape cost and investment strategy, talent, operations, culture, and long-term growth.
Our Strategic Consulting team helps you get to the real business problem behind the ask — the part others miss. We bring clear, unbiased insight that turns uncertainty into confident decisions, and we stay beside you through execution, fully accountable for making the plan work in practice.
In the UK, that means navigating a market shaped by post-pandemic occupier recalibration, shifting planning policy, net zero regulatory obligations under the Climate Change Act, and an increasingly competitive landscape for talent across London and key regional hubs. Our market knowledge gives clients the strategic advantage to act with certainty — not just intent.
We help organisations translate business strategy into built strategy, answering the questions that matter most before committing to decisions that are difficult to reverse.
What Sets Us Apart
Your Portfolio is Built Around Your Business
We help you determine where to operate, how much space to hold, and what network to build — making informed decisions backed by data, financial analysis, UK market insight, and sharp commercial judgement as talent, costs, and business priorities shift.
Workplaces That Work for Your People
We help you define and deliver workplace strategies that align employee experience with business goals — drawing on workforce data, change enablement, and the emerging impact of AI on how work gets done across UK organisations.
Capital Prioritisation, Done Properly
We help you navigate opportunities, understand risk, and prioritise investments across assets, portfolios, and developments — using scenario modelling and financial analysis to maximise long-term value in the UK context.
Sustainability That Goes Beyond Compliance
We help you develop practical sustainability strategies that balance business objectives, stakeholder expectations, and the UK's regulatory requirements — from MEES compliance to net zero commitments and Scope 3 reporting obligations.
Investment Decisions You Can Stand Behind
We help you evaluate financial impacts and understand the implications of different investment choices — bringing together commercial insight, financial modelling, and business case development to support confident decision-making.
Aligning Stakeholders Around a Clear Path Forward
We ground leaders in the underlying business objectives, evaluate portfolio, workplace, asset, development, and commercial options, and guide cross-functional decision-making through scenario development and data-driven insight — delivering real estate solutions that maximise business value.
Preparing for the AI Inflection Point
We bring a forward-looking perspective on macroeconomic forces, UK market dynamics, and industry trends to help you evaluate how AI may transform work. Through workshops and scenario planning, we translate this into implications for your workforce, workplace, and portfolio — providing clarity around future talent needs, space requirements, and investment priorities.
Services
Portfolio & Location Strategy
The right locations, with the right talent
Choosing the right locations unlocks growth, reduces costs, and improves access to talent. Across the UK — from London's financial core to growing regional centres like Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh — we align real estate decisions with business strategy, so every location works harder for your organisation. We combine workforce insights, market intelligence, and financial analysis to bring clarity to decisions across your entire footprint.
Key questions we answer:
- How much space do we need today, and how much will we need in the future?
- Which locations best support our talent, business, and growth objectives?
- What is the right portfolio footprint to balance performance, resilience, and efficiency — and where should we grow, consolidate, or exit?
- What is the right total occupancy cost, and how do we compare to the market?
- How are shifting workforce, technology, and market trends impacting our strategy?
Workplace & Transformation Strategy
The right workplaces, used the right way
The workplace is more than a place — it is a strategic tool for shaping employee experience, enabling new ways of working, and supporting business success. In the UK, where hybrid working has fundamentally reset occupier expectations, we help organisations align workplace, culture, and operations to create environments where people thrive, performance improves, and transformation endures.
Key questions we answer:
- How much space do we really need if the way we work keeps changing?
- How can we create a workplace experience that supports attraction and retention of talent?
- What future ways of working will best support our business, culture, and workforce?
- How can we navigate change while strengthening engagement, productivity, and culture?
- How do we align workplace investments with changing employee expectations and business priorities?
Asset & Development Strategy
The right projects, sized for long-term value
Real estate decisions don't stop at acquisition — they require continuous evaluation, planning, and optimisation. We help clients make informed investment and development decisions that balance risk, cost, and long-term value. Across the UK, we advise on how to structure, deliver, and fund large-scale development and urban regeneration projects — from repositioning assets in constrained city-centre locations to developing new mixed-use precincts in the regions.
Key questions we answer:
- What is the appropriate mix of land uses that aligns with the demand/supply equation and maximises viability and returns?
- How do I add value in a risk-adjusted way to my asset or portfolio?
- How do I optimise the feasibility of my development project and manage risk?
- How can I structure delivery and leverage commercial partnering and funding opportunities?
- What are the preferred planning pathways and development strategies to bring my project to life?
Sustainability Strategy
The right strategies, built for long-term resilience and value
Sustainability is increasingly influencing real estate value, operational performance, risk management, and investment decisions. In the UK, where MEES regulations, mandatory TCFD disclosures, and net zero policy commitments are shaping occupier and investor behaviour alike, organizations need practical strategies that deliver measurable results. We help clients develop and implement sustainability strategies that improve asset and portfolio performance, support decarbonization and net zero goals, manage climate-related risks, strengthen resilience, and enhance stakeholder confidence.
Key questions we answer:
- How can we improve asset and portfolio performance while achieving our sustainability objectives?
- Which sustainability issues matter most to our business, stakeholders, and investment strategy?
- How do we turn our sustainability ambitions into a practical, cost-effective roadmap with measurable results?
- How can we identify, manage, and respond to climate-related risks and opportunities, including MEES compliance and CRREM stranding risk?
- How do we set targets, establish governance, and effectively measure and communicate performance to stakeholders?
Commercial and Financial Strategy
The right capital, structured for better decisions
Real estate decisions are only as strong as the commercial and financial strategy behind them. We help public, private, and not-for-profit clients across the UK evaluate opportunities, structure deals, and build the financial case for action — bringing rigour and clarity to complex decisions where risk, return, and timing all matter. From investment assessment and funding strategy to delivery models and economic impact analysis, we provide the insight required to support confident decision-making.
Key questions we answer:
- How do we make this project commercially viable and investment-ready?
- How do we structure partnerships, incentives, and risk allocation for success?
- How do we attract the right investors, developers, and operators?
- How do we mobilise capital while delivering sustainable economic and community outcomes?
Expertise
One platform. Every industry. Every property type. No default lens.
Our work is industry- and property type-agnostic by design. We don't start from a fixed point of view — we start with the business problem, then draw on specialist expertise embedded across the global Cushman & Wakefield platform to solve it. We bring this same mindset to corporations, government bodies, high-net-worth families, and not-for-profit organisations across the UK, adapting our approach to each client's unique context.
That means clients get the depth of a specialist and the objectivity of a generalist in the same engagement — location strategy, portfolio planning, workplace design, asset and development strategy, and commercial and financial strategy, all informed by real-time UK data and global precedent rather than filtered through the assumptions of any single asset class.
Smart Advisors
Smart Advice in a Complex World
Rising construction costs, shifting planning policy, community expectations, and the pressure to deliver more with less — the UK built environment has never demanded more from its advisers. Our clients seek clarity, not noise. They want an honest perspective and trusted partners who help guide confident decisions.
Our global Strategic Consulting team of 500+ consultants includes futurists, urban planners, engineers, valuers, development managers, workplace strategists, data scientists, accountants, investment bankers, economists, architects, and financial modellers. We start with why. We don't accept the problem statement at face value — we interrogate it, refine it, and get to the question beneath the question.
The most demanding challenges require deeper intelligence — powered by data, AI, and advanced analytics, and shaped by human judgement. Our advisers apply expertise, context, and experience to turn complexity into clarity, giving clients the certainty and confidence to make decisions that stand up under pressure.
Contacts
Dimitris Vlachopoulos
International Partner, Head of Portfolio & Location Strategy, EMEA
Athens, Greece
Stephen Miles
International Partner, Head of UK Land, Development and Planning
Leeds, United Kingdom
Andrew TC Smith
International Partner, Head of Public Sector Advisory, UK Consulting
Leeds, United Kingdom
Insights
Research • Technology
Is Your Workplace Data Ready for AI?
Research
REdefining the Industrial Workplace: From Cost Center to Performance Driver
Research • Sustainability / ESG
Research • Technology
Research • Workplace
Research • Sustainability / ESG
Research
Unlocking Value From Transport Infrastructure
Research • Workplace
Research
AI Impact Barometer: Conviction in a Transforming World
Research
Reimagining Workplaces: Why Efforts Fall Short—and How to Get It Right
Research • Workplace
What Occupiers Want: Global Survey Results 2025
Insights • Sustainability / ESG
Frequently Asked Questions
