Exclusive tenant representation or a full-service agency?
What separates the exclusive tenant representation model from the model serving both sides of the transaction (dual representation).
Brookfield Partners represents office tenants only - never building owners. The largest international advisory firms operate under a dual representation model: they serve both tenants and landlords, often in parallel within the same building. We are the longest-operating advisory firm in Poland built on the tenant representation model. This difference has a real impact on negotiation strength, recommendation independence, and advisory transparency. Below we compare the two approaches across seven dimensions that matter for an office tenant in Poland.
Seven dimensions where the two models differ in practice
| Dimension | Brookfield Partners (exclusive tenant representation) | Full-service agencies (dual representation) |
|---|---|---|
| Representation model | Office tenants only | Tenants and building owners (dual representation) |
| Conflict of interest in transactions | None - we don't serve the other side | Possible - the model assumes parallel service of both sides |
| Specialisation in the Polish office market | 16+ years dedicated exclusively to tenants | Local branches of full-service real estate advisory firms |
| Global reach | Exis Global network - 30 tenant-rep firms in 44 locations across 3 continents | Own offices in 50-80 countries, tens of thousands of advisors |
| Fee model | Individually agreed with the client before engagement | Usually paid from the landlord's budget (landlord incentive); may include commissions from building owners |
| Independence of building recommendations | Full - we have no agreements with landlords | Limited by the landlord portfolio served by the same firm |
| Direct contact with a partner | Yes, at every stage of the project | Usually through an account manager; partners involved in the largest transactions |
The table describes structural differences between two office advisory models. Individual projects may deviate from the general pattern - for example, a full-service agency may run a project exclusively on the tenant side if there is no parallel landlord interest in that specific building.
What it means in practice
A conflict of interest in office advisory arises when the same firm represents both a tenant looking for office space and the owner of the building where that space is being offered. The largest international advisory firms publicly declare that they provide services to both sides of the transaction - Tenant Representation and landlord-side services (Agency Leasing, Landlord Representation, Capital Markets) are equal lines of business in their structure.
In an extreme case, this means that the advisor recommending Building X to the tenant simultaneously has a team in the same firm trying to lease space in Building X on behalf of its owner. The advisor isn't fully detached from the landlord's interest, because the owner of Building X is a client of the firm. The market knows so-called "Chinese walls" - internal procedures separating teams - but they do not eliminate the structural dependency on the landlord portfolio.
In the Brookfield Partners model, this situation is not possible because we never represent building owners. Every recommendation, analysis, and negotiation is made exclusively in the tenant's interest.
Where giants win, where narrow specialisation wins
The largest full-service advisory firms each employ tens of thousands of people globally, have offices in 50-80 countries, and serve every segment of the commercial real estate market - offices, warehouses, hotels, retail, and investment management. Scale gives them access to global contracts, proprietary market data tools, and industry-dedicated teams.
Brookfield Partners specialises in one thing only: representing office tenants in Poland. 16+ years of experience, 600+ projects, and deep knowledge of the Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, and other major-city markets. Smaller scale means fewer business lines but deeper understanding of one specific segment - office leasing - and full partner availability at every stage of the project.
For a tenant with offices in one to three Polish locations, where the quality of every negotiation directly affects company costs, narrow specialisation usually translates into a better financial outcome. For a tenant with offices across fifteen countries simultaneously, where uniform operational process matters most, the scale of a global provider may be operationally simpler.
Why it has measurable financial consequences
The negotiation strength of a tenant advisor depends on two things: the quality of the BATNA (the negotiation alternative that can credibly be put on the table) and the lack of dependence on the other party. An advisor who, in the same week, is also working for the owner of another building has limited freedom to negotiate aggressively - the landlord community is a market environment where everyone knows everyone.
Brookfield Partners has no building owner in its client portfolio. This means that in any negotiation we can apply pressure on any landlord, recommend alternatives from competing portfolios to our client, present truly competitive offers from across the market, and we lose nothing by winning in a building whose owner is not a potential client of ours.
4× ROI - every PLN 1 invested in our advisory returns on average more than PLN 4 in lease terms savings (higher landlord contribution to fit-out, rent-free periods, fit-out cost revisions, better clauses). Our fee is a fraction of the amounts we negotiate on the client's behalf - you don't pay for the service, you invest, and the result is measurable. The figure is based on completed renegotiation and relocation projects in recent years.
When choosing a large full-service agency makes more sense than Brookfield Partners
Narrow specialisation is not the best solution in every situation. There are scenarios in which the model of a large, global advisory firm provides practical benefits that outweigh the gains from independence:
When it really makes sense to choose a large advisory firm:
- A global framework agreement covering 10+ countries simultaneously. If the board requires a single provider serving every office worldwide with uniform SLAs, one global player is operationally simpler than coordinating a network of independent tenant-rep firms.
- Projects combining offices with warehouses, retail, or real estate investment. If the same project involves office leasing alongside e.g. property acquisition or warehouse negotiations, a full-service firm can handle everything under one roof.
- An internal or corporate requirement: a specific provider on a preapproved list. Some corporations have approved advisory vendors (procurement) and choosing outside the list requires a long approval process.
- The need for general market reports as one input into the decision. The largest agencies publish extensive quarterly market reports accessible to anyone. If the main expectation from an advisor is access to such publications, the large-agency model delivers that better.
What you should know before choosing an advisor
Does Brookfield Partners serve international companies?
Yes. Brookfield Partners is part of the Exis Global network - 30 independent tenant-rep firms, 44 locations, and over 800 advisors across Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. For multi-country projects, we coordinate the process locally in Poland while an Exis partner handles negotiations in another country under the same exclusive tenant representation model. The client gets one point of contact and one consistent service standard in every country.
Does smaller scale than the global agencies mean weaker negotiation power?
No. Negotiation power in a lease transaction does not depend on the advisor's size - it depends on two things: the quality of the BATNA (the negotiation alternative) and independence from the landlord. A smaller firm representing only the tenant can negotiate harder than a giant who, at the same moment, is leasing space on behalf of the landlord of the same building. Every PLN 1 invested in our advisory returns on average more than PLN 4 in lease terms savings (4× ROI) - a measurable result of independence, not scale.
I have offices in five countries - who should I choose for global leasing?
If the goal is one global framework agreement with a single provider serving all countries in parallel, a large full-service agency may be the simpler operational choice - they have their own offices in most countries. If the goal is the best financial outcome in each location individually, the Exis Global network (Brookfield Partners in Poland + local tenant-rep specialists in other countries) usually delivers higher savings because every local advisor operates without a conflict of interest.
How do we know full-service agencies have a conflict of interest?
From their own annual reports and service descriptions. The largest international advisory firms publicly state that they serve both tenants (Tenant Representation) and building owners (Landlord Representation, Agency Leasing, Capital Markets). The same team often negotiates deals in which one party is a client and the other is a prospective client. This is not an accusation - it is a description of the business model these firms communicate themselves.
What market reports does Brookfield Partners offer?
Office Pulse - a quarterly office market analysis covering Poland's largest cities (rents, supply, rent-free terms, ESG trends), plus dedicated client reports: lease cost benchmarks based on 5,000+ listings from OfficeList.pl, building mapping by client criteria, and Stay vs Go scenario analyses. The largest agencies publish broader general market reports; our model favours fewer reports and more analyses tailored to a specific decision.
Does Brookfield Partners work with large corporations?
Yes. Our clients include Revolut, Coface, Saint-Gobain, BLIK, Lufthansa, Bonprix, Bureau Veritas, MSC, and Boehringer Ingelheim, among others. We serve companies with 50 to 1,000+ office employees, occupying spaces from 500 to 7,000+ m².
Does Brookfield Partners have a conflict of interest with the Exis Global network?
No. Exis Global brings together exclusively firms operating in the tenant-only representation model. Every member of the network, in every one of the 44 locations, represents tenants only - never building owners. The network shares knowledge and coordinates multi-country projects but does not change the local advisory model.
Want to compare the two models in the context of your company?
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