Cushman & Wakefield Further Strengthens Its Hospitality Team With Partner Hire

London – Global real estate services firmCushman & Wakefield has further strengthened the specialist advice it provides to clients in the UK Hospitality sector by bringing Mark Woolfitt back to the firm.

An experienced hospitality valuation specialist who worked at Cushman & Wakefield for eight years earlier in his career, Woolfitt has re-joined the firm as a Partner having spent the last nine years as a Director in CBRE’s Hotels team.

Mark is extremely well regarded and brings a huge amount of experience of providing valuation advice to the leading players in the UK hospitality industry. We’re delighted to welcome him back to Cushman & Wakefield where his expertise will significantly benefit our clients in making informed decisions. Carl Ridgley, Head of Hospitality Valuation & Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield research revealed that more than £2.4bn of UK real estate was transacted by hotel investors in 2023. Over the last 12 months, Cushman & Wakefield’s hotel valuation team in the UK advised on several of the largest transactions that have occurred, valuing more than £1 billion for transactional purposes.

The overall annual volume of £2.4bn covered 149 properties across the UK, representing 14,255 individual rooms. While the annual volume of deals was down compared with 2022, the final quarter of 2023 (£745m) was 97% up on the same period 12 months earlier (£379m) with activity expected to continue to grow in 2024 as the debt market stabilises and demand growth continues. Operators, meanwhile, have enjoyed strong trading and overnight stays in hotels are projected to surpass 2019 levels in 2024.

Hospitality has proved its resilience as a sector which is reflected in operators’ buoyant trading performance. The sector remains attractive to investors because of the ability to enhance income in a higher inflation environment coupled with the long-term prospects of capitalising on structural shifts. Although the market experienced constrained deal flow last year, I expect to see an uptick in activity in 2024 as refinancing events take place and inflationary pressure subsides. I am looking forward to working with the team at Cushman & Wakefield and providing our clients with the specialist advice they need as the market evolves. Mark Woolfitt, Partner, Hospitality Valuation & Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield, which provides a full range of services to hospitality developers, investors and operators, covered the outlook for the hospitality sector in its recent European Outlook 2024 report.

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global commercial real estate services firm for property owners and occupiers with approximately 52,000 employees in nearly 400 offices and 60 countries. In 2023, the firm reported revenue of $9.5 billion across its core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, and valuation and other services. It also receives numerous industry and business accolades for its award-winning culture and commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), sustainability and more.

For additional information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com

Vikki McCrindle
UK PR Manager
Cushman & Wakefield