The company continues Gulf-wide expansion.
CB Richard Ellis announced the opening of a new office in Bahrain, one of the foremost financial services and real estate centres of the Middle East and North African region (MENA). The new office represents an important building block in the development of the firm’s Middle Eastern business.
Despite the turmoil in the global financial markets, the Gulf’s real estate market continues to offer opportunities for CB Richard Ellis’ international client base. Widely regarded as the best-regulated financial centre in the Middle East, Bahrain is home to approximately 400 licensed financial institutions and has been the region’s financial capital for more than 40 years. It also benefits from the King Fahd causeway which provides a direct link to Saudi Arabia, the largest market in the region. In 2012 a second causeway will complete a new trans-Gulf highway running from Saudi Arabia through Bahrain to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, connecting the entire Gulf market with Bahrain at the centre.
CB Richard Ellis expects to employ a staff of more than 100 people in the Gulf area by the year end, of which at least 20 will be based in Bahrain. Based in Manama, the local office will be managed by Mike Williams, an experienced professional who has spent the last 10 years working throughout the region in a range of consultancy/advisory roles to both the public and private sectors, and has been professionally involved in many of the largest projects to have taken place during that time. The management team in Bahrain has almost 30 years experience in the region and will be able to offer both local and multi-national clients a comprehensive range of real estate services.
Mike Strong, Chairman of CB Richard Ellis, EMEA, said: "The opening of an office in Bahrain is another important step forward in our Gulf expansion strategy, and allows us to extend our services into a rapidly growing region. We are particularly pleased to add experienced professionals to our team and our international clients are already benefiting from their local knowledge and contacts."