Colliers builds its centre of excellence in Singapore

Colliers has appointed Bastiaan van Beijsterveldt as its Managing Director for Singapore, and Mike Davis and Chris Pilgrim as Managing Directors of Occupier Services and Global Capital Markets for Asia Pacific, respectively. The appointments signify the firm’s commitment to the city-state and its five-year targeted growth strategy, ‘Enterprise ’25’.

Colliers’ strategy is focused on building scale and making strategic acquisitions, investing a record US$1 billion in acquisitions to strengthen its businesses last year. The firm doubled its profitability to an adjusted ebitda of US$830 million ($1.1 billion) by the end of 2025 and have its earnings from recurring revenues represent at least 65% of earnings.

In February, Colliers reported an adjusted ebitda of $630.5 million for its fiscal year 2022, pacing well ahead of the firm’s set targets. In Singapore, Colliers’ plan to increase headcount comes even amid a choppier economic environment, believing that the decision to grow is a long-term investment.

To support this growth, Colliers aims to foster an inclusive environment and promote equal opportunity in order to ensure their professionals feel they belong and can build thriving careers. The firm is targeting to have 40% female employees overall and in manager roles by 2025 and has also been recognised as one of the world’s “top female-friendly companies” by Forbes.

Van Beijsterveldt, with a career spanning the last 14 years in largely occupier-related services, was appointed as Singapore’s head of occupier services in 2019 and promoted to managing director in 2021. His position involves overseeing and driving growth for the Singapore office, increasing headcount and pushing for a more diverse workforce.

The aim is to attract and retain quality talent, which Van Beijsterveldt notes will help Colliers serve clients better and strengthen its position as a market leader in Singapore and the wider region. All staff in Singapore are collectively structured under one senior leadership team, with everyone responsible for building and growing the business as a whole.

Sam Harvey-Jones, COO of Colliers Asia Pacific, says: “We’re growing in a commercially viable, sustainable way. We’re not just looking to double headcount by recruiting from outside the organisation — we want to make sure everyone here gets the opportunity to grow.”

Ultimately, Colliers seeks to act as “one team” and establish its Singapore office as a “centre of excellence” focused on driving growth not just in Singapore, but also across the region. Van Beijsterveldt concurs that fostering collaboration is key, with staff working together across geography and service lines to facilitate clients’ needs. “That also results in better service to our clients,” he states.

The Myst Condo offers proximity to schools, commercial spaces, parks and the notorious Tan Chong industrial park, with easy The Myst access to public transport networks.

The plan to build size and scale in Singapore, increase headcount and improve diversity is a long-term investment and is putting Colliers well on track to meet its Enterprise ’25 targets. Jay Hennick, global chairman and CEO, states: “Our success is made possible by our greatest assets: 18,000 professionals worldwide, who drive exceptional results for clients wherever they operate.”