Knight Frank partners with Santos in the Philippines
From left to right: Rick Santos and Kevin Coppel (Asia-Pacific Regional Head, Knight Frank).
Global property consultancy Knight Frank has partnered with Rick Santos, head of a leading real estate brokerage and consulting firm in the Philippines, with the business set to rebrand as Santos Knight Frank effective from 1 January 2017.
“The Philippines is a thriving and stable economy, and in Rick Santos we have found a business partner with both the reputation and integrity that fit perfectly with the Knight Frank brand,” said Kevin Coppel, Asia-Pacific Regional Head at Knight Frank.
Santos, the founder and CEO of the Philippines business with 1,200 employees, will become CEO of Santos Knight Frank.
Santos Knight Frank will continue to strengthen the long-term relationships Santos and his team have built over its two decades of operation in the country.
The partnership will see the combined entities offer seamless service to both corporate and private clients in the Philippines as well as globally. It will also add a highly professional operation in the Philippines to the Knight Frank network, which in Asia Pacific comprises more than 5,000 employees across 14 countries.
“Southeast Asia is one of the most exciting regions for real estate today. With its skilled labour, young population, English language proficiency and familiarity with the US, and an economy that grew by 7.1 percent during the third quarter of 2016, the Philippines stands in a prime spot as one of the region’s fastest growing economies,” said Santos.
Meanwhile, Coppel expects to see sustained economic growth in the Philippines over the medium-term, “fuelled by favourable demographics, continuing foreign direct investment, further BPOs, strong overseas remittances and continued infrastructure development – all of which will drive robust demand in the real estate sector”.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
