What Urbis does

Urbis is an Australian urban consultancy founded in 1963 and headquartered in Melbourne, providing multidisciplinary advisory services across urban planning, property economics, design, heritage, valuations and strategic advisory to government agencies, property developers, shopping centre owners, institutional investors, student accommodation operators and precinct developers. The firm employs 501-1000 professionals across Australian offices and Singapore and operates as Urbis Ltd (ABN 50 105 256 228), a private limited company organised as a partnership-style structure with multiple Partners and Executive Directors.

Urbis monetises through two principal streams: project-based professional consulting services delivered directly to enterprise and government clients, and recurring subscription revenue from the Urbis Loop digital platform. The Loop platform is the central hub for proprietary market data products including Shopping Centre Benchmarks (33+ years of data covering 484 centres, $86.7B MAT and 20% of Australian retail sales), Student Accommodation Benchmarks/USAB (the first comprehensive PBSA dataset covering 500+ facilities and 130,000+ beds), the Apartment Essentials national apartment survey (covering Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Gold Coast from Development Application through completion), the Census Dashboard, the Rental Intelligence Dashboard (BTR-focused, 100,000+ listings tracked since 2018) and the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Vacancy Dashboard.

The business model combines sales-led enterprise consulting engagement (major infrastructure and precinct mandates such as the Homes Victoria Ground Lease Model, the Suburban Rail Loop technical advisor role, and the GPT Group George Street Parramatta Precinct) with a self-serve/PLG subscription channel via the Loop platform. Urbis invests heavily in industry association partnerships (Shopping Centre Council of Australia, Student Accommodation Council, Property Council of Australia, CEDA) that simultaneously feed data collection, distribute content and lock in the firm as an industry standard data provider across Australian real estate sectors.

Name

Urbis

Legal name

Urbis Ltd

Website

https://urbis.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Urbis is an Australian multidisciplinary urban consultancy providing planning, property economics, design, heritage and strategic advisory services to government agencies, developers and institutional clients, complemented by the subscription-based Urbis Loop data platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Real Estate (6500)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Strategy & Portfolio Consulting (Corporate/Institutional) (BPAJANAB)

Keywords

• Urban consulting services
• Property market intelligence
• Urban planning advisory
• Property economics research
• Heritage advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: Multidisciplinary urban consultancy providing planning, economics, design, heritage, valuations, and strategic advisory services to government and private sector clients on project basis.
2. Digital Products Subscription (Urbis Loop): Subscription-based access to proprietary market data dashboards including Apartment Essentials, Shopping Centre Benchmarks, Student Accommodation Benchmarks, Census Dashboard, and Industrial Vacancy Dashboard.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urbis is an Australian urban consultancy providing multidisciplinary professional services across urban planning, property economics, design, heritage, valuations, and strategic advisory for government and private sector clients. The firm also operates the Urbis Loop digital platform, delivering subscription-based market intelligence dashboards covering apartments, shopping centres, student accommodation, census demographics, rentals, and industrial property data across Australia.

Product overview

Urbis offers a platform-plus-modules architecture anchored by Urbis Loop, the central digital platform serving as the source of truth for cities. This platform hosts multiple analytics products including Shopping Centre Benchmarks (33+ years of shopping centre performance data), Student Accommodation Benchmarks/USAB (national PBSA tracking), Apartment Essentials Dashboard (national apartment market survey), Census Dashboard (demographic analysis), Rental Intelligence Dashboard (BTR-focused rental analytics), and Eastern Seaboard Industrial Vacancy Dashboard (industrial property data). The products provide market intelligence across Australian real estate sectors, with subscription-based access to interactive dashboards and quarterly data updates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Urban Consulting Services Multidisciplinary urban consultancy providing urban planning, property economics, design, heritage conservation, valuations, and strategic advisory services to government and private sector clients on a project basis.
• Urbis Loop Central digital platform and source of truth for cities, hosting multiple dashboards and analytics tools that provide property market insights powered by over 50 years of consulting excellence.
• Shopping Centre Benchmarks Benchmarking platform providing shopping centre performance data across Australia, covering 484 centres representing $86.7 billion in reported MAT, 36,445 tenants, and 11.1 million sq.m of leasable space (20% of Australian retail sales).
• Student Accommodation Benchmarks (USAB) Interactive benchmarking platform tracking the Australian student accommodation sector, covering 500+ facilities and 130,000+ beds nationally with data on supply, pipeline, room mix, rents, occupancy, demographics, and operating costs.
• Apartment Essentials Dashboard Comprehensive national apartment survey tracking all apartment projects from DA to completion in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Gold Coast, with Core and Built-to-Rent (BTR) modules covering sales, supply, and rents.
• Census Dashboard Online dashboard overlaying ABS Census data with retail trade areas, tracking key demographic changes at trade area, drive time, and radius levels with interactive visualizations and portfolio comparison of trade area characteristics.
• Eastern Seaboard Industrial Vacancy Dashboard Dashboard providing industrial vacancy rates for buildings over 10,000m2 across Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, with quarterly updates viewable by geography, grade, or size.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shopping Centre Benchmarks covers 20% of Australian retail sales through 484 centres and $86.7 billion MAT
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• The GPT GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Planning and heritage advisory services for George Street Parramatta Precinct. Urbis assisted GPT in securing planning approvals for a mixed-use commercial precinct including heritage conservation.
• Shopping Centre Council of AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership to strengthen industry insights through combined expertise in shopping centre performance data and market analysis. Urbis provides the Shopping Centre Benchmarks data while the Council contributes industry reach and member engagement.
• Student Accommodation CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Urbis Student Accommodation Benchmarks (USAB) platform developed in conjunction with the Purpose-Built Student Accommodation sector. The Council supports industry engagement and data collection for the benchmarking platform.
• Property Council of AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver practical industry education programs. Combines Urbis expertise in urban planning and property economics with the Property Council's industry network and professional development platform.
• Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership on housing supply and modern construction methods (MMC). Joint research report exploring MMC's ability to unlock faster, lower-cost housing supply in Australia.
• Homes VictoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGround Lease Model public housing redevelopment partnership. Homes Victoria leases government land to not-for-profit groups who finance, design, construct, manage and maintain housing for 40 years before returning to government. Urbis provides planning and economics advisory.
• Citta Property GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGround Lease Model partnership for public housing redevelopment in Victoria. Citta Property Group serves as development partner alongside Homes Victoria and other consortium members.
• Tetris CapitalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGround Lease Model partnership for public housing redevelopment in Victoria. Tetris Capital provides financing and financial advisory for the consortium.
• Building CommunitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGround Lease Model partnership for public housing redevelopment in Victoria. Building Communities is part of the consortium delivering the social housing projects.
• IconmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGround Lease Model partnership for public housing redevelopment in Victoria. Icon provides construction and development services as part of the consortium.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SGS Economics & Planning: Australian economic and property consultancy providing feasibility, market analysis, and planning advisory — direct peer competing on economic impact assessments and development feasibility in the same geographies as Urbis.
• MacroPlan Dimasi: Australian property economics and demographic forecasting firm with overlapping focus on residential demand modelling, retail catchment analysis, and development feasibility for government and private sector clients.
• Ethos Urban: Australian urban planning and economics consultancy offering town planning, social infrastructure advisory, and development feasibility — closely comparable service mix targeting government and developer clients across Australia's east coast.
• Hassell: Australian architecture and design firm with urban design and precinct planning practices — peers on major mixed-use and heritage projects (e.g., GPT's George Street Parramatta), sharing client base with Urbis.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global engineering and urban consulting firm with a large Australian urban planning, property economics, and design practice competing for the same government infrastructure and precinct advisory mandates.
• GHD: Large Australian-headquartered engineering, architecture, and urban development consultancy with property economics and planning capabilities overlapping Urbis's multidisciplinary offering.
• Arup: Global design and engineering firm with urban planning, master planning, and property advisory practices competing on major precinct, infrastructure, and government projects in Australia and Asia-Pacific.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global real estate services firm offering valuation, advisory, research, and market intelligence across the same property sectors (retail, residential, student accommodation, industrial) where Urbis provides consulting and data products.
• Knight Frank Australia: International real estate advisory with Australian research, valuation, and consultancy operations — competing for institutional property clients across residential, retail, and commercial sectors.

Emerging players

• Cotality (formerly CoreLogic Australia): Property data and analytics platform serving Australian real estate professionals — comparable to Urbis Loop in providing subscription-based market intelligence, with deeper capital and broader national coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/urbisaustralia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urbis

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urbis