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Shell International has given a contract to DTZ to manage the property
portfolio of 5,000 service stations in 11 countries across North
America and Asia-Pacific.
News of DTZ's contract win comes as more global corporate occupiers
hire specialist property services firms to help identify ways in which
they can cut costs and improve the efficiency of their real estate
portfolios. No details on the value of the deal were available.
DTZ has said that David Jones, from DTZ's occupier services team, will
lead the account globally, which builds on a strong existing
relationship with Shell in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Carolyn Gomez, retail real estate manager of property management at
Shell, said: "We are impressed with DTZ's approach to partnering with
us to help achieve our targets, and we look forward to developing a
strong relationship with DTZ across these two important regions."
Paul Idzik, group CEO of DTZ, said: "This is a fantastic result and
further evidence of DTZ's commitment to serving world-class clients
such as Shell." The DTZ boss has overseen a radical cost-cutting
programme since his appointment last October. In the year to April 30,
DTZ's workforce was cut by 1,504 to 5,575. The company warned that,
despite securing £30m of annual cost savings, it anticipates an "even
greater reduction in staff" over the new financial year.
Tim Melville-Ross, the chairman, praised action taken to slim down the
business as the extent of the recession became clear: "The resulting
transformation and refocusing of DTZ is proceeding so that the core
capabilities of the firm are being enhanced." DTZ's revenue fell
18.4pc to £364.1m in the year as a slump in the number of property
deals and businesses looking for new space hit the business.
Considering the state of the property market, DTZ has done well to
survive the slump. Last month DTZ reported its first loss since
floating in 1987. The reported loss includes exceptionals such as
£17.3m of restructuring charges and a £27.3m writedown relating to
North American operations. DTZ launched a £48.7m placing last December,
backed by its major shareholder, French investor Saint George
Participations (SGP). DTZ gave warning at the time that the failure of
the fund-raising would lead to the company defaulting on a loan and
potentially going into administration. As well as the downturn, the
acquisition of Donaldsons, the retail agent, at the market's peak in
2007, put stress on DTZ. On the plus side, DTZ has gained
flexibility by renegotiating its terms and securing a £15m credit
facility from SGP. Mr Idzik said the company's shareholder had offered
it the "best terms" for financing.
PetrolWorld 060809 Website: DTZ Global
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