Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) sees a real estate outsourcing market exceeding $1 trillion and growing at more than 5% annually, with opportunities ranging from individual outsourced services to broad strategic partnerships, according to Neil Murray, CEO of the company’s Real Estate Management Services, or REMS, business.
During a webcast focused on REMS, Murray said companies outsource real estate functions to concentrate on their core operations, lower costs, improve efficiency, access specialized talent and gain flexibility. He said outsourcing relationships can begin with a specific service or geography and expand over time as clients seek more integrated support across their real estate operations.
Scale, Platform and Property Management
JLL said 80% of its total revenue now comes from resilient business lines, with that revenue growing 10% annually since 2020. Murray said the REMS organization has grown to 88,000 employees globally and operates across multiple geographies, asset types, client industries and service specialties.
He emphasized that size alone is not sufficient, arguing that scale must be translated into standardized processes, data consistency and client benefits. JLL manages 5.9 billion square feet of space globally, according to the discussion.
Murray said the company has focused on codifying processes and operating standards to make its service delivery more consistent. At the same time, he said the company must maintain a culture that empowers employees to respond to the circumstances that cannot be standardized in advance.
Property Management became part of the REMS umbrella at the beginning of 2025. Murray said the business historically developed as a local, asset-by-asset offering, often associated with leasing or capital-markets assignments. JLL has since sought to globalize the business through more consistent data, leadership, procedures and client segmentation.
The company has also reviewed some property-management relationships that did not fit its strategic direction, Murray said. He said JLL is about 70% to 75% through that effort, which in some cases involved renegotiating arrangements or introducing alternative providers to clients.
Murray said investors are increasingly viewing real estate as an operational asset, creating demand for portfolio-level property-management outsourcing. REMS receives approximately 25% of its business from investors and 75% from occupiers, according to the presentation.
Industry Expertise and Client Demand
Murray said JLL’s occupier strategy is organized around industry expertise rather than solely by property type. The company currently works across seven major industries and sub-industries, he said, while seeking to avoid creating isolated operating silos.
He cited life sciences, data centers, advanced manufacturing and defense as examples of sectors with specialized operational, regulatory or technical requirements. JLL has also seen client needs diversify as technology companies add manufacturing requirements, e-commerce companies expand brick-and-mortar operations and banks operate data centers.
While data centers, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and technology have been areas of growth, Murray said diversification matters because growth leadership can shift among industries over time.
Clients are dealing with geopolitical uncertainty, changing business models, workforce needs, supply-chain considerations and evolving real estate portfolios, he said. Murray added that clients increasingly view facilities management, project management, portfolio strategy and workplace decisions as interconnected rather than separate services.
JLL said it serves about half of the Fortune 500 and 95% of the top 100 investors, though Murray noted that the company often provides only a single service to those investor clients. He described the opportunity to expand existing relationships as substantial.
Data, AI and Commercial Models
Murray said JLL’s data and technology investments over the past decade have positioned the company to use artificial intelligence. He said proprietary data generated through managing work orders, delivering projects, operating buildings, participating in capital-markets transactions and tracking building-use information can support predictive models and AI tools.
Within REMS, the company has deployed more than 100 AI agents across core processes, Murray said. He characterized the technology as a way to augment employees and expand capacity rather than replace workers, particularly in markets where talent availability constrains growth.
Murray said he does not expect AI to disintermediate JLL or cause fee compression in its outsourcing business. Instead, he said AI can help the company generate efficiency savings for clients, a central component of outsourcing arrangements.
He also expects an eventual shift toward more outcome-based contracts. Under those arrangements, clients focus less on input costs and more on agreed results, with provider compensation tied to performance. Murray said outcome-based contracts can provide greater scope for margin expansion when JLL creates measurable client value, but they also require data, experience and knowledge to underwrite risk.
Growth Outlook
JLL expects REMS to deliver high-single-digit revenue growth and average annual margin expansion of 50 basis points through the cycle, primarily through organic growth. Murray said major drivers include converting internally managed or out-tasked functions into broader outsourcing relationships, expanding services with existing clients, increasing outsourcing in underpenetrated markets and industries, and leveraging data and AI.
He said large outsourcing contracts can take six to nine months from a client’s request-for-proposal process to going live, naturally limiting how quickly new relationships can be added. JLL is balancing margin expansion with continued investment in technology, systems, processes and talent, he said.
Murray said the company’s long-term differentiation rests on its data and technology investments, operational scale and a human-centered culture. He said REMS retains 99% of its top clients, describing the relationships as long-term partnerships built on trust.
About Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL)
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL) is a global commercial real estate services and investment management company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company provides real estate expertise to corporate, institutional and private clients across office, industrial, retail, residential, hotel and other property sectors.
JLL’s services include leasing, property and facilities management, capital markets advisory, investment sales, valuation, development and project management, workplace consulting, and strategic real estate advice.
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