Lisa Cations
Founder and Managing Director
Lisa Cations, MRICS, is a prominent figure in the flexible office sector, bringing over 20 years of expertise in commercial real estate. As the Founder and Managing Director of JCR Advisors, she specialises in guiding landlords, investors, and asset managers through the development and execution of flexible office strategies. This includes flex workspace feasibility assessment in commercial and living sector assets, flex and managed space portfolio strategy, financial underwriting, operator selection, building in-house flex capability, and operator performance oversight .
Lisa’s career encompasses significant roles at leading international real estate firms such as Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, and CBRE. She has also held key leadership positions with prominent flexible office operators, including Industrious, Hana (a CBRE subsidiary), and IWG - the world’s largest flex office operator. She brings unique combination of investor, occupier and flex operator expertise that helps position her as a trusted advisor to the leading pension funds, private equity firms, private real estate owners and landlords.
Her academic credentials include MBA degrees from both Columbia Business School and London Business School, along with a Master’s in Real Estate Investment and Finance from Reading University. She holds MRICS qualification and is currently a Chair of the Urban Land Institute Innovation Product Council.
As a recognised thought leader, Lisa has contributed publications and research on flexible office models to esteemed institutions, like Columbia and Oxford Said Business Schools, where she also serves as a visiting lecturer.
My Story
I'm a Founder and Managing Director of a boutique independent investor flex advisory firm focused on Investor Flex Advisory, Flex Operator Selection and Operational Oversight. I've delivered investor flex advisory services to the leading institutional investors, fund managers, pension funds, private equity firms, family offices and institutional property owners across their commercial, offices, mixed-use, co-living, health and wellbeing, smart and flex lab spaces in the UK and Europe.
Prior to that, I've been working for the leading flexible office operators in various sales and commercial transformation leadership roles. I have successful track record setting up and growing sales and account management businesses for the flex operators globally. I was the Head of Enterprise Sales and Account Management at Industrious, the third biggest flex operator in the US; the Head of Enterprise Sales for Hana in EMEA (CBRE subsidiary company) and most recently the Senior Vice President of Sales for the UK and Global Commercial Transformation Director for IWG, the largest flexible offices operator in the world.
Prior to that, I've spend 15+ years of my career in the leading commercial real estate companies - Cushman and Wakefield, JLL and CBRE in investment banking, development and valuation advisory, corporate occupier, portfolio and asset management services, advising property owners, institutional investors, landlords, and occupiers on their real estate portfolios and commercial real estate assets in the US, UK, Continental Europe and APAC.
I am a globally recognised co-working and flex industry expert and thought leader. My publications and research materials on flexible office operator selection, partnership structures and flex business model have been published by Columbia Business School and Oxford Said Business School and are currently used by the leading academics all over the world to teach students on the subject of flexible offices, co-working and flex operator selection. I am a visiting lecturer in Columbia Business School and Oxford Said Business School teaching on co-working, flex offices and operational real estate.
I have MBA degrees from Columbia Business School and London Business School and Masters in Real Estate Investment and Finance from Reading University. I'm a Member of RICS and ULI. I am passionate about hospitality and making a difference to people's lives through built environment. I'm a co-founder and a trustee of the charity City of Opportunities focused on promoting people well-being and healthy buildings through funded independent research.
Contact
If you are looking for investor flex advisory services, feel free to connect.
+44 7463 44 8974