JLL (company) facts for kids
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JLL’s headquarters at the Aon Center (Chicago)
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| Industry | Real estate |
| Founded | 1783 London, United Kingdom March 16, 1999 by the merger of Jones Lang Wootton and LaSalle Partners |
| Founder | Richard Winstanley |
| Headquarters | Aon Center Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Services |
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| Revenue |  US$23.4 billion (2024) |
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Operating income
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US$868 million (2024) |
| US$547 million (2024) |
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| Total assets | US$16.8 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$6.89 billion (2024) |
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Number of employees
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112,100 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | LaSalle Investment Management |
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated, often called JLL, is a large company that helps people and businesses with real estate all over the world. Its main office is in Chicago, USA. JLL has offices in 80 different countries. They help manage buildings, buy and sell properties, and even use cool technology to make buildings smarter. JLL also invests money for people and companies, and they are one of the largest companies in the Fortune 500 list.
JLL's Story
How JLL Started
JLL was formed in 1999 when two companies, LaSalle Partners and Jones Lang Wootton, joined together. This big merger cost about $435 million. Jones Lang Wootton was a very old company from London, England. It started in the 1700s as an auctioneer. By 1976, it had grown and started working in the United States real estate market in New York City. Before the merger, Jones Lang Wootton had 4,000 employees in 33 countries.
LaSalle Partners was founded in 1966 by William Sanders. It was first called International Development Corp. In 1968, Sanders changed the name to LaSalle Partners and moved the company to Chicago, Illinois. At first, LaSalle Partners offered services like helping with investments and land. By 1997, LaSalle had grown into three main parts. It had ten offices in the U.S. and seven offices in other countries.
Growing Bigger
JLL continued to grow by buying other companies. In 2008, JLL bought The Staubach Company. Roger Staubach, a famous former football player, became an executive chairman at JLL until he retired in 2018. In 2011, JLL merged with King Sturge, a company from the UK. This deal was worth about £197 million. Together, they became the largest property agent in the UK. The combined company had 2,700 employees and 43 offices.
JLL also bought Guardian Property Asset Management in Ireland in 2015. By 2016, JLL had bought 80 companies and opened 100 offices around the world. LaSalle Investment Management, which is part of JLL, managed $58 billion in real estate investments by 2016.
New Technologies
JLL started focusing on "proptech" in 2017. Proptech means using technology in property and real estate. JLL created a new division called JLL Spark. In 2018, JLL Spark started a $100 million fund to invest in new real estate technology companies. For example, they invested in technology that connects office users with shared workspaces.
In 2019, JLL bought HFF, another big real estate company, for about $1.8 billion. This deal was completed in July 2019.
In 2021, JLL's technology part sold a software company called Stessa. Stessa helped manage rental homes. JLL then bought a small part of Roofstock, another company, and agreed to provide services to JLL's clients.
JLL also bought Skyline AI in August 2021. Skyline AI is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform. It helps analyze commercial real estate properties.
In late 2021 and early 2022, JLL bought two more proptech companies. In November 2021, they bought Building Engines, a company that makes software for property management. In February 2022, they bought Hank, a company that uses AI to make buildings use less energy.
In June 2023, JLL launched Carbon Pathfinder. This is a software tool that helps companies find out how much carbon pollution their buildings create. It also helps them find ways to reduce that pollution.
JLL also created its own special AI tool called JLL GPT. They launched it for their employees in August 2023. This was the first time a major real estate company launched such a tool. This AI model is learning from JLL's own data. It is designed to answer questions about commercial real estate.
In 2024, JLL partnered with IBM. They are using IBM's technology to create a platform. This platform tracks how sustainable JLL's clients' buildings are. It collects data and helps report on goals like reducing carbon emissions.
Also in 2024, JLL bought two more technology companies. In May 2024, they bought SKAE Power Solutions, a company that provides services for data centers. They formed a new division called SKAE, a JLL company. They also bought Raise Commercial Real Estate. This company had developed a technology platform to help companies manage their real estate properties.
In March 2025, JLL bought Javelin Capital. This company helps with investments in renewable energy.
What JLL Does
JLL's main office is in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the largest public real estate brokerage firms in the world. The company has more than 112,000 employees in 80 countries.
JLL offers many services. These include managing investments, managing properties, helping to buy and sell buildings, and managing projects. They also help with property development and use new property technology. In 2014, the company started using "JLL" as its short name for marketing. However, its official legal name is still Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated.
Christian Ulbrich became the CEO of JLL in October 2016. Sheila Penrose was the board chairwoman starting in 2005. Siddharth Mehta took over as chairman in 2020.
In 2022, JLL started the JLL Foundation. This is a non-profit organization. It focuses on fighting climate change and promoting sustainability. The foundation gives loans with no interest to new companies. These companies create or are developing sustainable products or technologies. For example, they might turn plastic waste into building materials.
