Jones Lang LaSalle expands its residential foot print across South East Asia

With its most recent acquisition of DST International Property Services in Singapore

JONES Lang LaSalle, the leading global real estate services firm, has strengthened its residential footprint in South East Asia by acquiring DST International Property Services in Singapore. DST International was established in 1998 to market new and refurbished residential properties around the world.

This follows on the back of a number of recent mergers by Jones Lang LaSalle globally; Property Edge in Singapore, Alpha Realty in Thailand, King Sturge in the UK and Europe, Procon in Indonesia and Pacific Real Estate Partners in the United States.

Founder of DST International Doris Tan became established in real estate as Director of Hill Samuel Property Services and opened up a portfolio of unique and top-end properties stretching from Asia Pacific to the US, Middle East and Europe. Over the past six to seven years DST has built a thriving business marketing properties located in the UK to the Singapore market on behalf of King Sturge, the European property company which merged with Jones Lang LaSalle earlier this year.

Doris Tan said: “We are looking forward to joining forces with Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore and see this merger as a natural progression which will strengthen our combined residential capabilities both locally and across the globe. Our combined capability and the strong brand recognition this merger will bring will provide us with a scale and depth of expertise that will be of great benefit to our clients.”

Chris Fossick, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle South East Asia and Singapore commented: ‘It is fantastic news that Doris and her team at DST International Property Services have joined Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore. DST is the leading agency in Singapore specialising in the sale of London properties and has extensive experience in selling international properties in the US and Australia as well as the UK. This acquisition forms part of our strategic expansion plans to develop our residential business across the Asia Pacific region and globally.”

“DST will greatly strengthen our international residential sales capability - the final leg to our current residential platform in Singapore of residential leasing for corporate tenants and owners and residential project sales. For many years, the London market has been attractive to Singaporean investors, with the wealth creation in the Asian region and particularlySingapore, and we expect Asian investors to continue to buy in London, particularly as the UK Pound has corrected considerably against the Singapore Dollar and other Asian currencies. King Sturge has had a very successful association with DST for many years, and I am particularly pleased that this successful working relationship can now continue even more closely,” he added.

Peter Murray, Director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s London-based residential team says, ‘London is firmly established as a destination of choice for Singaporean clients. Whether purchasing for their own use or for yield and capital growth investment, one point which is consistent is that Singaporeans understand and appreciate the benefit of owning London property. The London residential market has proven to be resilient during the past three years, and has demonstrated strong capital growth with continued growth forecast. This is underpinned by strong international demand, an imbalance between supply and demand and a strong rental market. Doris Tan and her team will help us maintain our market leading position and we are thrilled that we are now all on the same team.”

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate. The firm offers integrated services delivered by expert teams worldwide to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying or investing in real estate.

With 2010 global revenue of more than USD 2.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle serves clients in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide, including 200 corporate offices. The firm is an industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 1.8 billion square feet worldwide. LaSalle Investment Management, the company’s investment management business, is one of the world’s largest and most diverse in real estate with USD 45.3 billion of assets under management.

Jones Lang LaSalle has over 50 years of experience in Asia Pacific, with over 20,800 employees operating in 77 offices in 13 countries across the region. The firm was named the Best Property Consultancy in Asia Pacific at 'The Asia Pacific Property Awards 2011 in association with Bloomberg Television'. For further information, please visit our website, www.ap.joneslanglasalle.com.

Singapore, 17 October, 2011