Colliers International UK unit has 'a skip in its step'

Colliers International UK unit has 'a skip in its step' following the acquisition by Toronto-based FirstService Corporation, the company’s CEO Tony Horrell told PropertyEU.

FirstService announced on Wednesday that it paid $22 mln (EUR 16.5 mln) for the remaining stake it did not own in the UK Colliers unit, and assumed EUR 21 mln in debt. The deal also includes the UK ownership interests in Ireland and Spain. Colliers International UK will be delisted and operate in future as a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstService. The Canadian group now owns almost 90% of Colliers International by revenue globally compared to 70% prior to the acquisition.

Now that it is debt-free, Colliers International UK can embark on its expansion plan, Horrell added. 'We aim to invest in more people and build a deeper and stronger business.' Colliers' UK chief is particularly keen to expand the company's London transactions team in the City and West End, but said the four other key lines of business - property management, valuations, ratings and business consultancy/project management - could all be bigger as well. He did not rule out the possibility of acquisitions to reach these goals.

FirstService previously held a 29.6% stake in the London-based company and was required to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away by the end of last month. Following an extension of the deadline, Collliers International UK was placed into administration immediately prior to the purchase by FirstService by way of a pre-packaged transaction. For the fiscal year ended 2011, Colliers UK generated revenues of approximately EUR 75 mln.

FirstService acquired its initial stake in Colliers International UK in October 2009. Other shareholders were XA Framlington Investment Management (9.8%), Gartmore Fund Managers (5.6%) and UBS Global Asset Management (5.3%).

FirstService sees a strong UK unit as a cornerstone of its expansion plans for Continental Europe. In addition to the UK, Spain and Ireland, FirstService has boosted its equity interests in the past few years in Colliers International operations in Russia and several other countries in Western and Eastern Europe. During this period, the company has rebranded the various units to the Colliers International brand in one centrally owned and operated entity.