Alistair Elliott, Senior Partner & Group Chairman, Knight Frank

One day before the EU referendum, Eastday reporter conducted an exclusive interview with Alistair Elliott, Senior Partner & Group Chairman, Knight Frank, on the company’s global strategy.
“Going back to the 1980s，in the early years of Canary Wharf development, I acquired two headquarters: one for Texaco - an oil company and shortly after that, for the Readers Digest.” Alistair Elliott, the visiting Senior Partner & Group Chairman of Knight Frank, remembered his early experiences as a 30-year veteran in commercial real estate market, when talking to Eastday reporter in Shanghai.
In today’s market specialist property is increasingly favoured by investors. “Investors around the world are increasingly looking for diversification. They require more and more diversities. Some people set their target to residential sector. Other people explore commercial sector. When they enter commercial sector, they focus on offices, retail or industrial properties,” said Alistair Elliott, “We have noticed in the last few years, many investors have taken a strategic decision to extend their scope by buying specialist sectors.” Specialist sectors in the world of real estate mean health care, student property, hotels, automotive, etc.
Knight Frank, which has been established for 120 years, now has expanded to 58 countries, with over 400 offices and 13,000 people. “It is exploring new opportunities all the time. Knight Frank as a leading independent global real estate consultancy has four unique characteristics: independent, no external shareholders, international and commercial and residential properties. These four things as a collective enhanced our competitive power,” said Alistair Elliott.