Project Details
Client: Victory Corporate Serviced Offices
Location: Hong Kong
Topline: Victory Corporate Serviced Offices were looking for overseas expansion and specifically into the Hong Kong market for its overseas expansion. They had specific requirements concerning a large floorplan of over 20,000 square feet and were interested to be located in one of the city’s most iconic towers.
The Challenges
- Victory is an Australian company. They were familiar with the Australian office market but it is very different from the Hong Kong market.
- Victory had no existing staff in Hong Kong
- At the time the Grade A vacancy rates in Central were at historic lows, especially in buildings with floorplans larger than 20,000 square feet.
- Furthermore there has been some negative press and sentiment from Hong Kong landlords on the coworking industry and its sustainability.
- There was intense competition from other business center operators in the market, many of which had existing relationships with the landlords.
Solution & Outcome
It was important for the CBRE team to advise Victory on the Hong Kong norms and provide advice on the very best deal that could be achieved.
CBRE provided unbiased and professional advice to assist Victory with its requirements for suitable staff, construction and project management services for its business, as well as legal advice for its documentation and operations.
With existing vacancy rates at historic lows, the team had to concentrate on future or hidden vacancies within only a few suitable buildings. This required extensive knowledge of the movements and requirements of the existing tenants in the target buildings. We leveraged our large team, network and experience for this.
It also required close communication and relationships with key landlords to identify spaces that could become available in the near future. This was again a team effort in leveraging the close relationships that different CBRE team members had with specific landlords. All this knowledge was shared in meetings.
It was important to establish in the eyes of landlords that Victory was a premium brand and not focused on cheap and unsustainable desk prices. With the help of CBRE Australian colleagues and marketing, the team presented the facts of Victory’s success and high occupancy rates.
The Center, which the team secured in Hong Kong, has been a great success for Victory and has already outperformed the competition in the market with close to 80% occupancy in only a few short months of opening.
As Victory was a new tenant in Hong Kong, it was important to establish their reputation as a premium and successful brand.
CBRE prepared multiple marketing presentations and had boardroom meetings and video conference calls with landlords to present their brand. CBRE leveraged different departments for this, including Pitch Management and marketing. CBRE also arranged tours for Hong Kong landlords of Australian Centers in Sydney, coordinating with CBRE Sydney colleagues.
Victory successfully established its presence outside its home country, Australia, and established a solid foothold in Hong Kong with the first establishment in Central with CBRE’s support. The team also provided referrals for legal advice, staffing and project management to ensure the success of Victory's expansion.
