Culture & History

The firm that is now CBRE traces its roots to San Francisco in 1906. By the 1940s, that firm grew to become one of the largest commercial real estate services companies in the western United States. In the 1960s and 1970s, the company went public and expanded both its service portfolio and geographic coverage to become a full-service provider with a growing presence throughout the United States.

1980s

• The firm was owned by Sears, Roebuck
• In 1989, employees and others acquired the company's operations from Sears to form CB Commercial.

1990s

• Acquired Westmark Realty Advisors, an investment management firm (1995)
• Acquired L.J. Melody & Company, a mortgage brokerage firm (1996)
• Acquired Koll Real Estate Services, a property and capital markets firm (1997)
• Achieved significant global expansion with the 1998 acquisition of REI Limited, the international arm of Richard Ellis, which traces its roots to London in 1773.
• The company changed its name to CB Richard Ellis, or CBRE.

2003

• Acquired Insignia ESG and became the leading real estate services firm in New York and London.

2004

• Completed an initial public offering and began trading its Class A Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

2006

• Added to the S&P 500.
• Acquired Trammell Crow Company to create a real estate services firm with unprecedented scale, scope and service offerings.
• Became the global leader in the provision of outsourcing services to major occupiers, including corporations, healthcare organizations and public sector institutions.

2011

• Attained leadership in another key business segment acquiring the majority of the real estate investment management business from Netherlands-based ING Group, N.V. The acquisition created an enterprise with approximately $90 billion of investment assets under management.
• Changed its name to CBRE Group Inc. in order to better align its identity with its industry-leading brand.

2013

• Enhanced its occupier outsourcing services platform in Europe with the acquisition of Norland Managed Services Ltd, the leading provider of building technical engineering services in the U.K. and Ireland.

2015

• Acquired the Global Workplace Solutions business unit of Johnson Controls (JCI) – a leading global provider of integrated facilities management services – merging it with its existing Occupier Outsourcing business.
• Total revenue exceeded $10 billion for the first time.
• Ranked #2 (out of 500 companies) in financial growth and performance by Barron’s.

2018

• Changed ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange to “CBRE.”
• Total revenue exceeded $20 billion for the first time.

2019

• Reorganized global businesses into three segments – Advisory Services, Global Workplace Solutions and Real Estate Investments.

2020

• Dallas became CBRE’s global headquarters city.

2021

• Acquired majority interest in Turner & Townsend, a premier provider of project, program and cost management.
• Acquired 40% interest in Industrious, a provider of premium flexible workplace solutions.

2022

• Ranked #126 on the Fortune 500.
• Made investment in Proptech company, VTS, whose technology improves how space is leased and managed.

2023

• Named to Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index for four years in a row.
• Featured on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the 4th consecutive year and the North America Index nine years in a row.

2024

• Acquired J&J Worldwide Services, a leading provider of engineering services, base support operations and facilities maintenance for the U.S. federal government.
• Acquired Direct Line Global, significantly enhancing its technical expertise in managing data centers.
• Ranked #3 on Barron’s Most Sustainable Company list.
   

2025

• Named a Fortune’s Most Admired Real Estate Company Fifteen years in a row.
• Combined Project Management business with majority-owned Turner & Townsend subsidiary, and created a new Project Management segment.
• Fully acquired Industrious National Management Company, LLC, and created a new business segment: Building Operations & Experience (BOE).
• Four business segments are: Advisory Services, Building Operations & Experience, Project Management and Real Estate Investments.
• Named the top global brand in commercial real estate for the 24th consecutive year on the 2025 Lipsey brand survey. Trammell Crow Company was the highest ranked pure development company for the eighth consecutive year.
• Named a World’s Most Ethical Company by Ethisphere for 11th consecutive year.