Knight Frank has unveiled a new national service line in Australia with the launch of Knight Frank Advisory, to be headed up by industry veteran Kelwyn Teo.
This marks the first time a specific advisory arm will operate in the firm’s Australian network, though the service is already offered by Knight Frank in London, India and the Middle East.
Mr Teo brings more than 20 years of experience in property, complex development transactions and structured financing solutions across Singapore and Australia to the role.
Most recently, he was a Partner at Deloitte specialising in commercial advisory and structured deals. He has also previously held roles at CBRE, where he was promoted to Regional Director and Advisory Lead, as well as at Grant Samuel and PwC.
Knight Frank Advisory will provide an end-to-end offering that works with clients over the entire life cycle of major project investments and complex development transactions.
The service line includes three core pillars across Strategic, Commercial and Portfolio Repositioning Advisory Services, underpinning a holistic approach to delivering bespoke project solutions.
Mr Teo has worked on development and investment deals totalling more than $10 billion for major corporate, institutional and government clients.
His notable projects include Bradfield City, Waterloo Renewal Estate, Manly Health Precinct, Bays Precinct, Rhodes Hewlett Packard Corporate Park and Barangaroo.
“The truly bespoke nature of our offering will differentiate Knight Frank in the market,” Mr Teo said.
“I am excited to partner with our clients throughout the life cycle of their major project investments and transactions, and provide a wholistic end-to-end-service.
“Knight Frank’s ability to link in with our global partners will also be of benefit for our clients.”
Knight Frank Partner, Life Sciences and Consulting Lawson Katiza, who has been with Knight Frank for more than three years, will also be part of the new Knight Frank Advisory team, with active recruitment underway to further bolster the team.
The new service line will work with other complementary service offerings within Australia, including Capital Markets, Capital Advisory, Valuation and Advisory Services, Project Management, Leasing and Asset Management Services.
Knight Frank Chief Executive Officer James Patterson said he was very excited to deliver a new end-to-end advisory service offering to clients in Australia.
“Currently there are limited firms offering this service in Australia, particularly on such a bespoke level, but it is in demand amongst our clients,” Mr Patterson said.
“This service line will add another arm to our business that is a solutions-oriented offering to our clients, rather than being transaction driven.
“Kelwyn is one of the most experienced and well-respected people in Australia in the advisory space, having worked on some of the biggest and most recognisable projects in the country, and we are confident he will deliver amazing expertise, innovative solutions and ongoing support to our clients.”
