James Young
President, Markets - APAC & EMEA • Singapore
James Young
President, Markets - APAC & EMEA • Singapore
About
Role & Responsibilities
James is Cushman & Wakefield’s President, Markets for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) regions. In this role he is responsible for the growth of the company’s business with investors, funds, landlords and developers across five key divisions – Capital Markets, Agency Leasing, Valuation, Asset Services and Project & Development Services.
As well as leading the firm’s growth with investor clients, he is also responsible for driving consistent, best-in-class advisory and execution services for the firm’s major clients. His significant experience in the industry aids him to effectively and efficiently collaborate and partner with all the geographic and business line services required to meet and exceed investor client service expectations. As such he has become a trusted advisor to many of the world’s largest real estate owners.
James is a member of C&W’s EMEA Executive Committee and Executive Leadership Team, as well as the APAC Executive Committee.
Experience & Qualifications
James has been with C&W for 33 years, joining in 1990, having gained a BSc (Hons) in Estate Management from Oxford Brookes University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and has a Master of Corporate Real Estate from CoreNet.
He became Partner in 1997 and Equity Partner in 2003. He joined C&W’s UK Board in 2006 and the European Executive Council in 2013. Post-merger with DTZ he became an International Partner, joining the EMEA Executive Leadership Team in 2016 and the EMEA Executive Committee in 2019. He was made an Executive Partner in 2019. James also became Head of Investor Services for EMEA in 2019 and added the APAC region to this role in 2023, moving from London to Singapore in early 2023 to better develop the firm’s service in this region.
James is on the Court of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors, one of the modern livery companies of the City of London, and is also a Freeman of the City of London. He is a trustee of two real estate related charities.
Assignments
- James has advised the global investment bank Citi for over 15 years, dealing with the disposal of approximately one million sq ft of space across London. This role culminated in the acquisition of Citi’s HQ in Canary Wharf, the largest single-asset transaction in the UK market in 2019.
- He has been responsible for C&W’s work in Europe on behalf of WeWork, leading to over 25 transactions. In addition, he led one of the highest profile transactions in 2019 - WeWork acquiring the European Medicines Agency’s headquarters in Canary Wharf.
- James undertook the largest pre-let transaction in East London in 2017, the 300,000 sq ft disposal of 14 Westfield Avenue, Stratford to HMRC on behalf of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
- James and team dealt with one of the largest City of London pre-lets (600,000 sq ft) to Amazon at Principal Place in the City of London, on behalf of Brookfield Office Properties. CoStar’s City Deal of the Year 2015.
- Acting for Canary Wharf Group, one of the firm’s key London investor clients, he dealt with the disposal of Becket House, Waterloo (145,000 sq ft) to Bouygues. CoStar’s Southbank Deal of the Year for 2016.
- James advised EY on the acquisition of their Canary Wharf office at 25 Churchill Place (207,000 sq ft) which included negotiating a take-back of 145,000 sq ft of surplus space.This was one of the most complex and largest London deals of 2014. CoStar’s Docklands Deal of the Year for 2014.
- James’s City of London team were hand-picked by J.P. Morgan to deal with the strategic disposal of their legacy portfolio of buildings, following the bank’s move to Canary Wharf in 2012.The disposal of almost 750,000 sq ft of space was an unprecedented achievement in the challenging, post-financial crisis landscape.
- He has overseen the strategic direction of the office portfolio of Sainsbury’s, the major UK retailer. This involved building acquisitions and the right-sizing of their portfolio across the UK, including their HQ at Holborn.
- James’s landlord portfolio includes some of the world’s top investors / developers, including Brookfield, Blackstone, Canary Wharf Group, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Union Investment, Pembroke, Derwent London and Great Portland Estates.
- James has an impressive track record of advising blue-chip occupier clients, including Citi, MSCI, O’Melveny & Myers, DTCC, Westfield, Sainsbury’s, VTB Bank and many others.
What's new
European Real Estate Recovery Holds As Investors Turn To Selectivity
Cushman & Wakefield's European Investment Atlas Q1 2026 report highlights a market transitioning into a more mature phase of recovery, where opportunities remain significant but increasingly require precision, discipline and careful asset selection.
Lauren Joselyn • 30/06/2026
Cushman & Wakefield Appointed As Valuer Of SEGRO’s UK Portfolio
Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed by SEGRO, the UK’s largest Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), as valuer of its UK portfolio of modern warehousing, industrial property, data centres, and development land assets.
Richard Coleman • 08/05/2026
Cushman & Wakefield Appoints Senior Leaders To Drive Insight-Driven Solutions Across APAC & EMEA Markets
Richard Pickering and Alvin So join the APAC & EMEA Multi-Markets team.
Lauren Joselyn • 17/12/2025
Senior Appointments Signal the Next Phase of Growth for Cushman & Wakefield’s V&A Team
Clare Clarke and Rob Pritchard join as Partners.
Lauren Joselyn • 24/09/2025
From Caution to Strategic Conviction: European Real Estate Finds Its Footing
European real estate is still a strong play, offering real income-producing assets backed by solid long-term trends and fundamentals says Cushman & Wakefield.
Lauren Joselyn • 11/06/2025
Cushman & Wakefield Appoints Patrick Hogan As Head Of EMEA Living Capital Markets
Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Patrick Hogan as Head of EMEA Living Capital Markets.
Richard Coleman • 06/03/2025
Iversen Building Reaches Full Occupancy At The Oxford Science Park
The Iversen Building, a new purpose-built ‘lab ready’ 86,000 sq ft building based at The Oxford Science Park (TOSP), has reached 100% occupancy only twelve months after practical completion.
Vikki McCrindle • 28/02/2025
Stane Retail Park In Colchester Sells For £33.95M
In the first major retail park acquisition of 2025, a private South African investor client of Pembrey Asset Management has acquired Stane Retail Park, Colchester, from developer The Churchmanor Estates Company plc, for £33.95 million.
Richard Coleman • 17/02/2025
Central London Office Market Defies Economic Challenges With Robust Leasing And A Positive 2025 Forecast
The Central London office leasing market demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2024, achieving an overall take-up of 9.68 million sq ft, a 1% increase on 2023 and the second highest volume in the past five years, according to Cushman & Wakefield's latest ‘Central London Offices Marketbeat’ report.
Lauren Joselyn • 06/02/2025
Powerhouse Markets Lead EMEA Data Centre Growth As New Markets Emerge To Reshape Landscape
A total of 21GW of data centre capacity across EMEA was operational, under construction, or in planning stages at the end of 2024 with operators increasingly looking beyond traditional powerhouse markets to meet demand, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Richard Coleman • 05/02/2025
European Commercial Real Estate Markets Experience Significant Yield Compression In Q4
New data from Cushman & Wakefield reveals that a growing number of European commercial real estate markets saw prime yields move inwards in Q4 2024, with 24 market sectors reporting an inward shift in Q4 2024, double the number in Q3, providing a clearer signal that Europe’s investment markets are on the road to recovery at the prime end of the market.
Richard Coleman • 04/02/2025
Cushman & Wakefield Completes Acquisition Of Its Affiliate In Finland
Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has completed the acquisition of its affiliate in Finland, having announced in November that it had entered a definitive agreement to acquire the firm.
Richard Coleman • 17/01/2025
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