The story
In 1906, Tucker, Lynch & Coldwell, the earliest predecessor to CBRE, was established. In 1913, the company added Benjamin Arthur Banker as a partner and changed the combined entity's name in 1918 to Coldwell, Kern & Banker. In 1919, the name became Coldwell, Kern, Cornwall & Banker, and in 1920, Coldwell, Cornwall & Banker. Cornwall retired in 1940, and the company name changed again to Coldwell, Banker & Company, which was shortened to Coldwell Banker in 1974.
In 1981, Coldwell Banker was acquired by Sears. In 1989, Sears sold Coldwell Banker's commercial unit to a management-led buyout group including The Carlyle Group for approximately $300 million. After the buyout, the company was renamed CB Commercial Real Estate Group. The residential group retained the Coldwell Banker name.
CB Commercial returned to the public markets in 1996 through an initial public offering that raised approximately $80 million. The company subsequently expanded through acquisitions, purchasing Koll Real Estate Services in 1997 and merging with Richard Ellis International the following year. The merger resulted in the CB Richard Ellis name and was followed by the acquisition of UK firm Hillier Parker.
An investment group led by Blum Capital took the company private in 2001 in an $800 million leveraged buyout. CBRE acquired Insignia Financial Group in 2003 and returned to the public markets the following year. In 2006, the company's shares were added to the S&P 500 Index, and the same year the company acquired Trammell Crow Company for $2.2 billion. In 2011, the company acquired the real estate investment business of ING Group for $940 million.
In 2011, the company changed its name to CBRE Group Inc.
In 2013, the company acquired Norland Managed Services, a facilities, energy and project management provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2015, the company acquired Global Workplace Solutions from Johnson Controls. In 2018, the company acquired FacilitySource. In 2019, the company acquired the London developer Telford Homes.
In 2020, CBRE moved its global headquarters from Los Angeles to Trammell Crow's former headquarters building in Dallas, Texas. In 2021, CBRE Group paid £960 million for a 60% stake in the UK construction consultancy firm Turner & Townsend. In 2025, CBRE merged its project management businesses into Turner & Townsend, creating a $3bn business employing over 20,000 staff in 60 countries. CBRE increased its Turner & Townsend ownership stake to 70%.
In January 2025, CBRE acquired full ownership of Industrious, a provider of coworking office spaces. In January 2025, CBRE announced a new global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manhattan. In November 2025, CBRE announced the acquisition of Pearce Services from New Mountain Capital for $1.2 billion in cash.
From Wikipedia’s article on CBRE Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8