GLOBAL real-estate consulting firm JLL announced on April 24 the acquisition of a local company engaged in project-management and construction services.
In a news briefing held in Pasay City, JLL Philippines country head Christophe Vicic said the acquisition of JCI International will enable the company to be a more competitive force in the real-estate market, because it can offer more services to its clients.
“This is also an interesting phase in our operations, because we’re now bigger, better and bring more value to the clients,” Vicic said.
He said the addition of JCI will make JLL more agile in expanding in growing markers, such as manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, hospitality, health and other alternatives. He said JLL wants to capitalize on the growth opportunities present in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines. Vicic said the growth drivers in the region are age demographics, urbanization, technological advancement, rising household income and education.
“Data centers, education and student-housing facilities are going to be big opportunities, especially in the Philippines. With a growing young population, the Philippines will have to build more educational facilities,” he said.
As a company that provides project management and construction services, Vicic said JCI International will complement the array of services offered by JLL.
Established in 2002, JCI is in Manila and has more than 40 employees, including architects, engineers and construction personnel with local and international experience. Its team is led by senior partners John Morgan and Calum Swinnerton, both involved in the construction industry for more than 30 years.
The company handles both domestic and international projects, including Citibank Plaza, Net Lima Building, Net Park Building, Raffles Hotel Suites and Residences and Fairmont Hotel in Manila, Philam Life Center in Cebu, and Barclays Capital in Singapore and Jakarta.
“With our complementary service offerings and shared commitment to client-service excellence, this is an outstanding fit for both companies,” said Anthony Couse, CEO, JLL Asia Pacific. “For JLL, the acquisition will significantly expand our existing project and construction platform, giving us the ability to offer our clients even more services.”
“With JCI’s specialist expertise and strong reputation, we will gain greater access to new corporate and investor clients in the country’s core growth industries, specifically hospitality, industrial, data center, retail, residential, health care and outsourcing. The acquisition will also strengthen our ability to support global and regional clients in the Philippines,” he said.
Vicic said the Philippine property is extremely doing well, and a lot of companies are interested to invest in the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the Duterte administration. More projects need to start to propel economic growth,” he said.
A recent World Bank report said the Philippines will record growth in excess of 6 percent per year until 2019 on the back of infrastructure programs and a burgeoning business-process outsourcing sector. With stable demand for office space, particularly from technology and professional service firms, the real-estate and construction sectors continue to experience steady growth.
JCI services to be incorporated into the JLL business include project management, construction management, cost and claims management, procurement management, design management, building audits and consultancy, energy management and audit, move management, management of testing and commissioning, and client management.
The company will operate as “JCI International–A part of the JLL network” during an initial transition phase. Both Morgan and Swinnerton will report to Henning Badenhop, managing director, Project and Development Services, South East Asia, JLL.