Top 10 Real Estate Companies in the World

List of Top 10 Real Estate companies in the world. This list of major Real Estate companies includes the largest and most profitable Real Estate business, corporations and firms in the industry. If you are wondering what the biggest Real Estate companies are, this list should prove helpful.

• Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance's real estate department is the first magic circle team in the top 10 and third overall, ranking in £74m in 2011-12.

The revenue figure was flat compared with 2010-11, but real estate was still Clifford Chance's second most profitable group in London after litigation, according to group head Jonathan Solomon.

The firm refocused its real estate practice on large and complex corporate transactions and developments a decade or so ago, and in the past 2 years has also sought to whittle down its list of clients to around 15 core real estate players. One of these is Hammerson, which appointed Clifford Chance to its panel along with Addleshaw Goddard, Herbert Smith and Nabarro in 2011, and instructed Solomon on its £254.5m acquisition of the Junction Unit Trust, which comprises 4 UK retail parks and a development site, in October. Nabarro's Deborah Lloyd advised the trust.

• CB Richard Ellis

It is the global leader in real estate services. Each year, they complete thousands of successful assignments with clients from the gamut of industries. This volume creates market knowledge that allows them to seize opportunities, speed the business process and create the most thorough, precisely accurate picture of global commercial real estate conditions and trends. Every day, in markets around the globe, they apply their insight, experience, intelligence and resources to help clients make informed real estate decisions.

• DLF

DLF is the top real estate company in India. It's chief business is to develop housing, marketable and retail properties. It has undertaken the development of 70 million square feet of housing projects in 2010, which it intends to finish in the next 3 years. DLF has joined hands with Delhi Development Authority to develop townships in Amritsar, Pune, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Chennai and Goa. DLF has been the construction company behind different malls in the major cities in India. The company is also developing 50-75 hotels along with Hilton Hotels and infrastructure and SEZ in India in collaboration with Laing O'Rourke (UK). It's market cap in 2010 was around Rs.51,832.22 crore.

• DLA Piper

The firm became the UK's biggest revenue-generating real estate practice, with a £163.9m turnover in 2011-12.

According to UK real estate head Simon Cookson, DLA has the largest property team of any firm, with around 550 lawyers. DLA Piper plays in the mid-market more often than many others on the list, but still lands the occasional big-cap deal and is keen to move up the food chain.

London is clearly the firm's priority, but losing four Manchester property partners including department head Anita Weightman - to Irwin Mitchell earlier this month will still have stung.

In July the firm, led by partner Jo Owen, advised Blackstone on the £400m sale of its Nido Student Living business to Round Hill Capital, which was advised by Berwin Leighton Paisner.

• Colliers International

It provides a range of services to commercial real estate users, owners, investors and developers worldwide. primary services include consulting, corporate solutions, investment services, landlord and tenant representation, project management, property and asset management, valuation and advisory services. The organization serves the hotel, industrial, mixed-use, office, retail and residential property sectors.

• India Bulls Real Estate

One of the India's largest listed developers developing residential and commercial real estate. Being  a focused regional player, more than 90% of IBREL's portfolio by value is in the three major markets of Mumbai, NCR and Chennai. Established in 2000, the company has grown into one of the leading Indian business houses with its companies being listed on Indian and overseas financial markets having a combined net worth in excess of Rs.18,000 crores. In 2010 its market cap was around Rs.6,545.17 crore.

• CMS

Like DLA Piper, CMS's £67.8m real estate turnover figure includes income from all its offices for the first time, and not just those in the UK LLP.

The firm's real estate team picked up a new client in the form of Scottish Widows in 2012, thanks to partner Edward Benzecry, and advised the investment partnership arm of the plc on its £70m acquisition of the Broadwalk shopping centre in Edgware in the first quarter.

CMS's practice is focused primarily on investment work, and has been dragged out of the doldrums by foreign investor clients. One example is the Employee Provident Fund of Malaysia, which bought a regional distribution centre in Dartford from European Property Investors Special Opportunities in August 2011 for £80m.

• Jones Lang LaSalle

It is a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate services and investment management. Their more than 30,000 people in 750 locations in 60 countries serve the local, regional and global real estate needs of those clients, growing the company in the process. In response to changing client expectations and market conditions, they assemble teams of experts who deliver integrated services built on market insight and foresight, sound research and relevant market knowledge.

• Hogan Lovells

Hogan Lovells' real estate team's near - 16% jump in turnover between 2010-11 and 2011-12, from £45m to £52m, was the biggest of the top 10. The firm was helped along in the 2011-12 financial year with a couple of high profile administration mandates, for example advising KPMG as administrators on the collapse of Peacocks.

However, for the most part Hogan Lovells' property team has ticked along advising UK and overseas investors. In the UK this has been mainly on the sales side, although notable examples include Hermes, which bought Westfield's half-share in a £400m portfolio containing 3 shopping centers in January.

Highlight deals include advising News International on its Wapping site sale to St George Central London for £150m and acting for the BBC on the sale of Television Centre in White City to a consortium led by Stanhope that was backed by Canada's Alberta Investment Management Corporation and Mitsui Fudosan of Japan for £200m in July.

• Grubb & Ellis Company

It is one of the largest commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. With 6,000 professionals in more than 100 company owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm's transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise.