Montreal-headquartered asset management firm Fiera Capital Corporation has acquired an 80% interest in Palmer Capital Partners, the UK-focused real estate investment manager.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The deal is being struck through Fiera Capital’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fiera Properties, a real estate investment management company.
'Palmer Capital is a perfect fit for us as we look to further grow our footprint outside of North America,' said Vincent Duhamel, global president and chief operating officer, Fiera Capital.
'This is a strategic acquisition with a growing business in Europe and the United Kingdom – key areas of focus for us as we expand globally.'
Palmer Capital, founded in 1992, has over £800 mln (€885 mln) in assets under management. It also manages an additional £215.5 mln through the joint ventures of eight regional property companies in which it is a minority shareholder, as of 30 September 2018.
Palmer will remain independently managed but will become the UK arm of Fiera Properties, part of Fiera Capital’s alternative asset offerings. Ray Palmer, founder of Palmer Capital, will remain the executive chairman and Alex Price, CEO, will continue to run the day to day strategy and operations of the business.
'This transaction, which sees Fiera Capital taking a long-term view of the UK real estate market, is very much in line with our strategy of expanding our current service offering in alternative strategies and provides an excellent platform for both Fiera Properties and Palmer Capital to expand their domestic businesses and become part of a coordinated and growing global business,' added John Valentini (pictured), president and CEO, Fiera Private Alternative Investments.
'The combined business significantly expands the range of offerings to our existing client bases.' Valentini said.
This acquisition marks Fiera Capital’s first acquisition of a real estate investment management business outside of Canada and its second acquisition in the UK market following its acquisition of boutique fund manager Charlemagne Capital in 2017. Expanding globally, in March 2018, Fiera Capital increased its presence in Asia with the acquisition of Clearwater Capital Partners.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. The deal will increase Fiera Capital’s headcount in the UK to over 100.
