Carter Jonas chief looks back on two years at the helm after launch of five-year business plan

Carter Jonas chief executive Richard Bruce is close to two years into his role and has just overseen the formulation and launch of the company's latest five-year plan. CoStar News caught up with him to reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing the national broker.

Richard Bruce joined Carter Jonas, a commercial, residential and rural real estate broker with over a thousand staff and 34 offices, in September 2023, from Colliers.

He says his previous role as chief operating officer at Colliers had been European in scope and he thoroughly enjoyed that for many years, as well as being in the real estate industry, which he describes as "incredibly people and relationship driven".

It was, nevertheless, a conscious decision to shift from a European role to one focused on the UK, and Carter Jonas has been the perfect fit, he says.

"With a history spanning 170 years and 34 offices, Carter Jonas boasts an enviable track record and serves a diverse, national client base including private clients, public sector entities, private companies and institutions," Bruce says of the decision to take on the role. He adds that the breadth of the offer appealed. "We help clients right across the property life cycle in the rural, infrastructure, commercial, residential and planning and development sectors.  This range provides a strong growth foundation of stable, non-transactional work, which complements the cyclical nature of our transactional work."

The culture at Carter Jonas was also an immediate attraction. "What came through immediately, even during preliminary discussions, was an established firm with a true partnership approach. Carter Jonas has great people, a variety of clients and a real energy and ambition to grow and build the firm for the future. That was very compelling."

He was very aware that having a new chief executive was a significant change for the firm.

"My predecessor, Mark Granger, had led the company for over two decades. I respected that legacy. My first goal was to listen and build connections with our people, so they could get to know me while I learned about them. Then my task was to bring everyone together to develop our five-year strategy. I wanted to ensure that I had buy-in and agreement from everyone before taking any actions."

The company is now focused on that strategic growth plan, Vision 2030, which was finalised and launched in March, Bruce says. "We recognise that the industry and client needs are evolving, and Carter Jonas must lead that change. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on identifying opportunities within professional services firms and delivering transformation strategies to enhance success."

Carter Jonas reported a pre-tax profit of £15.3 million for the year ending 30 April, a 4% increase from the previous year.  Turnover also rose, to £84.38 million.

Bruce says one of the reasons he was so interested in Carter Jonas was the consistent revenue growth the company has experienced over a significant period.

"This resilience demonstrates our ability to continue growing in difficult markets and places us in the top 10 of UK property consultancies. Our focus is on client service, culture and sustainable, profitable growth. That is achieved through great leadership and having the right structures in place, as well as having a clear vision and an environment where people can get on with the job unimpeded."

Bruce said the group has recently made changes to support the next phase of its growth, such as a new head of commercial, Alexandra Houghton, and an infrastructure division, headed by Mark Hall-Digweed, which has been brought out of the rural division.

The planning and development business has introduced four business units to champion growth and drive planning, development consultancy, development agency and masterplanning, Bruce says, and the residential team has brought in a new lead for national sales.

The five-year vision for the business puts in place the building blocks and roadmap that will take it through until 2030. Bruce says the primary goal was to create a plan "for the firm, by the firm, so that everyone could feel part of our future".

"A troubling statistic I came across a few years ago revealed that, within businesses, on average, only 14% of people surveyed understood the strategy. This statistic has always stuck with me as shocking and, in my experience, is because strategy is often viewed as a document created with much zeal and then forgotten. Implementation is key, and that should involve everyone working towards the clear vision, with clear progress towards its goals, every day."

Bruce says that because of this a considerable amount of time was dedicated to the development of the strategy, with involvement from various teams and offices at different levels of the organisation to ensure a collaborative process.

"We launched the strategy in March this year with an event bringing together more than 800 of our people in Birmingham for a day. It marked the first firm-wide session of its kind. The main purpose was to present the new strategy holistically. Given the changes – my leadership as the new chief executive, along with the new plan – we wanted to make it fresh and exciting, and it was great to launch it in this way. It felt right, and honestly, it was just really inspiring to see everyone in a room like that."

Bruce explains that the plan does three things. "It aligns the firm around clear and consistent strategic objectives on clients, people, brand, financials and the need to keep evolving. It commits us to strengthening and deepening our core services, whilst focusing on integration. As we grow, we will continue to improve the bonds that unite us to create opportunities for everyone.

"As a result, we have a strategy, around which the level of understanding and buy-in from across the business is high, structured around five pillars and five distinct business lines: Commercial, Planning and Development, Infrastructure, Residential, and Rural, all with a refreshed structure in place."

One key job facing Bruce is managing a business focused on transactional and non-transactional services, such as infrastructure consultancy, and evolving the two strands successfully.

"A key strength of our firm is the revenue mix," he says, "specifically the income profile in terms of transactional versus non-transactional revenue. Approximately 35% of our income is transactional, while 65% is non-transactional, which we define as income received on a monthly or quarterly basis."

Bruce says this balance has proven to be healthy and stable, allowing the company to navigate good and challenging times. "As we continue to grow, we’re keen to keep the mix and the proportions approximately the same, but to build both these parts even further."

Another task is to ensure the five core business lines now in place all end up providing improvement to client services.

"We are a diverse firm, and how clients define service will differ. We are always mindful of this and employ a tailored client approach. We involved a range of clients in the launch of our strategy, asking their thoughts on the benefits of working with us. Consistent themes emerged, particularly around trusted relationships, a partnership approach and responsiveness.

"It is important to understand the bigger picture, such as the specific market that the client is operating in, and their broader goals, so that we can help on multiple levels.  In our Vision 2030 launch, a client mentioned that they didn’t see us as an external advisor but as part of their business. That is a great goal for our partnership."

To do this, Bruce says the business encourages in-person meetings and picking up the phone. "In a time when it is increasingly difficult to speak to people, I think this is so important, so we place emphasis on in-person connections, which enhances our responsiveness."

In terms of what clients value most when working with Carter Jonas, Bruce says the partnership model is a major point of difference with rivals.

"We have a flat hierarchy and decision-making process, with the key stakeholders actively involved in the firm. This allows us to move quickly, encouraging everyone to bring forward ideas."

Bruce says the model is effective because it is on based on a client-focused approach, and clients like to work with people who have a vested interest in the business. "We take ownership of our relationships, our business and its success. You won’t hear us say that an issue is someone else’s problem. We are accountable for our actions and committed to achieving positive outcomes for our clients."

He says the clients he has spoken with appreciate this. "Ultimately, our business is about people. By putting ourselves in our clients' shoes, understanding their needs, and helping them achieve their goals, we can truly excel in our service."

Bruce estimates Carter Jonas is the 10th largest UK property consultancy, a position that raises questions about the brokerage's scale and whether it is part of a "squeezed middle".

"We offer a variety of services, but we don't try to do everything," Bruce says. "We don’t attempt to emulate firms that offer different services or operate on a much larger scale. That's a strategic choice. Market position and similar measurements can be interesting, but they are ultimately a reflection of how satisfied our clients are with our services and how engaged our people feel. It’s not about chasing rankings; it's much more about doing a good job for our clients and collaborating effectively with colleagues."

Bruce adds that while Carter Jonas is a large firm, it does not seek to be the biggest, but the best.

"Our clear vision is to be the UK property sector’s partner of choice. We recognise that our people and clients have a choice, and we focus on that.  A significant part of our Vision 2030 is focused on deepening our areas where we already excel. We want to enhance our services, expand into new UK geographies and continue to operate as one firm. We see lots of opportunities to do that, but we are clear about our focus in this vast industry. Others may pursue different paths, but we know where we want to excel."

Bruce says the competition has to be considered, but "starting with the client's needs is crucial, as they are ultimately paying for the service".

So which sectors or geographies is Bruce targeting for growth and where does he think Carter Jonas holds competitive advantage?

Bruce says the majority of the company's recent office openings have been driven by relationships and mandates in those locations.

"For example, we opened an office in Kent due to client work and another in Nottingham for the same reason. In January, we opened an office in Edinburgh. This is just the beginning of something new, focused on serving our existing contracts. We will continue to explore areas where we are building our presence. We opened our Manchester office a year ago, and it is doing exceptionally well, thanks to our great team there. We want to strengthen our efforts in places like that. We are committed to investing in and growing our hub offices, and we are also considering additional locations in Scotland."

Outside the UK, Carter Jonas has an affiliation with Christie’s Real Estate International, which Bruce says aids its residential and agency clients. It also has several commercial strategic alliances that work well, he adds.

"In terms of growth sectors, we will continue to develop our transactional agency and non-transactional services, while also building our offerings in areas such as living sectors, industrial and logistics, and science and technology, to name just a few. I firmly believe that if you're entering any market, you need to have local expertise, so getting the right team on the ground from day one is important. In the UK, there is plenty to pursue to keep us busy. While we are open to future opportunities, our growth plan is predicated on organic growth."

Carter Jonas is also focused on London and Bruce is keen to point out how that complements its regional network and client base.

London is extremely important, he says. "Our head office is here, and we have several residential offices in the city and have opened more since I joined. Our current headquarters is set to be redeveloped, and we will be moving in three years. This focuses the mind and is a tremendous opportunity for us. We have a significant setup here, a multidisciplinary office with 200 people in the building. Our next move will be an exciting step and is an essential part of our Vision 2030; it needs to reflect our brand and business aspirations."

That said, Bruce points out that it is a national firm, and, with his colleagues on the management board, says he is keen to engage with all offices, teams and people at all levels. "We rotate our monthly meetings around our offices and really enjoy this. Equally, we chose to launch our Vision 2030 strategy in Birmingham, where we have a hub office. These are conscious decisions aimed at ensuring all people, in all our locations, feel part of our business."

Bruce says a national footprint is important in providing real insight into local needs, so staff can respond at pace. "We also feel part of the communities we serve and get involved in local initiatives."

In many areas, he says the business is moving towards a national service line approach.

"This will help us maintain a local focus while also fostering greater synergy between our offices, allowing us to support clients seamlessly across multiple locations."

How, then, is Carter Jonas adapting to a challenging and changeable market and what does Bruce predict for the next 12 to 18 months?

"We've certainly gone through a challenging economic period, and we shouldn't underestimate that. Clients are understandably more cautious and are taking more time to consider their options. But there is always an opportunity in uncertainty, and for some of our teams, the biggest issue is recruiting to meet demand. We are looking at how we deepen our talent pools, both externally and internally, and making sure that people know how they can build their careers within our business," Bruce says.

He adds that his outlook is positive. "The global market will remain challenging, but the UK is increasingly seen as relatively stable.  Within our industry, some areas will continue to face more challenges than others; that is why being a balanced business is so important."

Bruce says the important thing is for Carter Jonas to continuously adapt. "Our focus remains on our clients and our people, and with a clear strategy and determination to succeed, we feel prepared for the future."