Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the commercial property arm of Sherry FitzGerald Group in the Republic of Ireland.
The deal is expected to complete in early September 2018.
Cushman & Wakefield already had a 20% stake in the Irish commercial property business which operated as its exclusive affiliate in Ireland – rebranding two years ago as Cushman & Wakefield Ireland.
The firm, which has more than 100 commercial property professionals and offices in Dublin, Limerick and Galway, will now be fully integrated into Cushman & Wakefield, with managing director Aidan Gavin heading the business and also sitting on the firm’s UK & Ireland executive committee.
Cushman & Wakefield will maintain its close affiliate relationship with the wider Sherry FitzGerald Group, which has a further 97 offices across Ireland.
Seamless operation
Colin Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield, said: 'This is an exciting next step in an exceptional relationship which first began 20 years ago and reflects the significant increase in cross-border projects on which our teams have been collaborating. We expect further growth as the Irish economy continues to strengthen and we integrate fully as a single firm with a truly seamless operation between Ireland and the UK. We are committed to profitably growing the scale and performance of our substantial EMEA business to deliver outstanding results for our clients.'
'Our business has gone from strength to strength since adopting the Cushman & Wakefield brand and we have real momentum in the marketplace,' added Aidan Gavin, head of Ireland at Cushman & Wakefield. 'We now have the opportunity to move to the next stage by leveraging the resources of our global network to shape the future of Irish property.'
100th office
Steven McKenna, Chief Executive Officer at Sherry FitzGerald Group, commented: 'For Sherry FitzGerald Group this sale provides us with the opportunity to back our ambitious plans to continue developing our core Sherry FitzGerald business. We will shortly be opening our 100th office in Ireland and are equally focussed on providing a smarter business for the benefit of our clients through imaginative technology. It makes sense for Cushman & Wakefield to solely own their Irish commercial business and equally it makes sense for us to have a simplified ownership structure and single brand.'
As part of the transaction Cushman & Wakefield will also acquire, from Sherry FitzGerald Group, a minority share in its affiliate commercial property businesses in Cork and Belfast. The remaining equity, held by shareholding directors, is unaffected.
