Leading global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle has strengthened its residential spread in South East Asia by acquiring DST International Property Services in Singapore.

DST International was established in 1998 to market new and refurbished residential properties around the world.

This merger follows on the back of a number of recent acquisitions by Jones Lang LaSalle globally; Property Edge in Singapore, Alpha Realty in Thailand, King Sturge in the UK and Europe, Procon in Indonesia and Pacific Real Estate Partners in the United States.

Founder of DST International Doris Tan became established in real estate as Director of Hill Samuel Property Services and opened up a portfolio of unique and top end properties stretching from Asia Pacific to the US, Middle East and Europe.

Over the past six to seven years DST has built a thriving business marketing properties located in the UK to the Singapore market on behalf of King Sturge, the European property company which merged with Jones Lang LaSalle earlier this year.

‘We are looking forward to joining forces with Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore and see this merger as a natural progression which will strengthen our combined residential capabilities both locally and across the globe. Our combined capability and the strong brand recognition this merger will bring will provide us with a scale and depth of expertise that will be of great benefit to our clients,’ said Tan.

Chris Fossick, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle South East Asia and Singapore, said that the acquisition forms part of our strategic expansion plans to develop our residential business across the Asia Pacific region and globally.

‘DST will greatly strengthen our international residential sales capability, the final leg to our current residential platform in Singapore of residential leasing for corporate tenants and owners and residential project sales. For many years, the London market has been attractive to Singaporean investors, with the wealth creation in the Asian region and particularlySingapore, and we expect Asian investors to continue to buy in London, particularly as the UK Pound has corrected considerably against the Singapore Dollar and other Asian currencies. King Sturge has had a very successful association with DST for many years, and I am particularly pleased that this successful working relationship can now continue even more closely,’ he added.

According to Peter Murray, director of Jones Lang LaSalle’s London based residential team, London is firmly established as a destination of choice for Singaporean clients. ‘Whether purchasing for their own use or for yield and capital growth investment, one point which is consistent is that Singaporeans understand and appreciate the benefit of owning London property,’ he explained.

‘The London residential market has proven to be resilient during the past three years, and has demonstrated strong capital growth with continued growth forecast. This is underpinned by strong international demand, an imbalance between supply and demand and a strong rental market. Doris Tan and her team will help us maintain our market leading position and we are thrilled that we are now all on the same team,’ he added.

Source: http://www.propertywire.com/news/company-news/jlls-expansion-south-asia-201110175687.html