Digby Flower, chair of Cushman & Wakefield’s UK business and a leading UK real estate adviser, will retire at the end of the year after a 37-year career predominantly focused on the Central London office market.
Beginning his career at Baker Harris Saunders in 1985, Flower moved to Hillier Parker in 1995 where he was involved in the formation of CB Hillier Parker and the merger with Richard Ellis to form CBRE. He joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2012 and was appointed CEO of the UK and Ireland and a member of the EMEA leadership team.
He played a significant role in the merger with DTZ in 2015 and the subsequent development of Cushman & Wakefield in the UK and Ireland and across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
As an adviser, Flower has been involved in many major London projects including the Blue Fin Building and Bankside 2 and 3, New Street Square and Cardinal Place, and in the evolution of the new generation of tower buildings including 20 Fenchurch Street, 22 Bishopsgate and the Scalpel. Alongside this, he has provided strategic advice to major occupiers including PwC, Mayer Brown, Ashurst, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, State Street and Standard Chartered.
Flower said: “Each stage of London’s evolution during my time in the market has profoundly altered the way we work and the space we need to work in. London has matched up to these changes with the delivery of new places from Broadgate to Canary Wharf, the northern crescent from Paddington to King’s Cross, and along the South Bank from Battersea to Canada Water. I have greatly enjoyed the challenges this has presented in shaping major occupiers’ strategies and the places, building designs and specifications to accommodate them. I am grateful to all the clients and colleagues who have helped make my career so enjoyable and fulfilling.”
John Forrester, chief executive of Cushman & Wakefield, said in a statement: “Digby has been an outstanding colleague and contributor to the growth story of Cushman & Wakefield in the UK and EMEA. Through the development of the firm to his market leadership, he has embodied the Cushman way – a relentless focus on client service, a willingness to challenge the status quo and a passion for delivering results. Combined with his innate and intelligent curiosity, Digby was an early voice and influence in areas like wellbeing and sustainability, now unquestionably mainstream priorities. He was always well ahead of the game.”
George Roberts, head of UK and Ireland, Cushman & Wakefield, added: “Digby can be proud of the difference he has made, not only in support of his clients and our business, but also in the positive physical impact that his projects have had on London. His dedication and support to clients have led him to be one of the most respected advisers of his generation. Just as importantly, he has always been a thoughtful and generous mentor helping younger colleagues to make the most of their talent.”
Cushman pointed out that his career has spanned a "period of transformation of the capital and its real estate from the ‘Big Bang’ and the emergence of huge global trading banks, through the creation of major international professional services firms, to its more recent incarnation as a global tech hub".
Alongside his work at Cushman & Wakefield, Flower described the “great privilege” of serving as Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors’, a Governor of the Royal Star & Garter Homes and a Trustee of The Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust.