Colliers acquires London agent H2SO

Colliers International has acquired London property adviser H2SO in a move aimed at further strengthening its UK operations.

The takeover comes just four months after Colliers acquired Briant Champion Long (BCL), one of the UK's independent retail property specialists, and underscores the firm’s efforts to beef up its UK and European investment advisory resources.

H2SO was founded in 2009 and generated around $12 mln (€8.9 mln) in annual revenues in 2013. Since its inception, the firm has advised on over £5 bn of capital transactions and leasing instructions representing more than 232,000 m2 of commercial and office space.

Paul Smith, David Hanrahan, Rob Hayes and John Olney will lead the combined Colliers Central London Offices team of more than 40 professionals from 50 George Street in the West End as well as Colliers’ new office at 35 King Street in the City.

‘One of our key strategic goals is to expand our UK transactional business, particularly in London, and build a team of industry leading professionals that can serve the most discerning clients,’ said Tony Horrell, CEO of Colliers UK and Ireland. ‘This combination of professionals from both organizations will allow us to “raise the bar” even further in the Central London investment and office market.’

He added that both firms have ‘an enterprising culture and approach to excellence that will help define our service offerings for many years to come’.

‘Integrating our business with Colliers was a natural step for us and one that enables all of our professionals to broaden their service capabilities and service their clients globally,” said H2SO founding partner Rob Hayes.

He described the tie-up with Colliers as a ‘natural step’ for the firm. ‘Leveraging our combined operations with the expertise and resources of Colliers, the third largest player in commercial real estate globally, will enable us to capitalise on global mandates and deliver customised real estate services to our clients seamlessly, anywhere in the World,’ he said.

Colliers International is owned by Toronto-listed FirstService Corporation, which manages more than 232 million m2 of residential and commercial properties through three global platforms: Colliers International, FirstService Residential; and Property Services.