Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, has announced that it has closed the previously-announced acquisition of market-leading U.K. firm WHR Property Consultants LLP (WHR) and has opened a new office in Manchester.
Terms of the acquisition, which closed on November 1, 2017, were not disclosed.
The Manchester office represents Avison Young’s fifth office in the U.K, 11th office in Europe, and an additional step in the firm’s ongoing aggressive growth and expansion strategy.
Over the past nine years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to, now, 81 offices in 73 markets, and from 300 to more than 2,600 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.
WHR is a multi‑disciplinary commercial property consultancy firm with a wide range of offerings, including industrial and office agency, capital markets, property management, asset management, rating and professional services.
The firm was founded in 2004 by a group of Manchester-based property professionals. The goals of the partnership were to provide high-quality integrated property consultancy to customers, including institutions, property companies and high-net-worth individuals. The partnership developed a strong market presence in the North West, with a focus on Manchester’s city centre, and has been involved in many high-profile property transactions within the region. The firm has provided complex professional and consultancy services over the years, including some groundbreaking appeals in the area of business rates, to a wide variety of national and international clients.
Effective immediately, WHR is rebranded as Avison Young and 35 new members join from WHR. Mark Williams, Gareth Buckley, Mike Rooney and Dan Crossley become Principals of Avison Young.
Williams also becomes Managing Director of the new Manchester office and will play a leading role in the company’s strategic expansion in the North West region while managing the day-to-day operations of the office. He also will continue to work closely with Buckley, Rooney and Crossley and collaborate with Principals across the company.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Mark, Gareth, Mike, Dan and the entire WHR team to our Principal-led, collaborative company,” comments Rose. “We are excited to be adding such a highly regarded group to our talented existing U.K. team, and to be opening an office in Manchester. The combination of our current resources with the leading professionals of WHR greatly strengthens our market share and enhances our support structure to serve our robust client base. Moreover, the strategic hire of this team of respected professionals will give us further momentum as we continue to build the Avison Young brand throughout Europe and beyond.”
Effective immediately, Avison Young’s new office in Manchester is located within the central business district at The Lexicon, 9th floor, 10 Mount Street.
“We are honoured to be part of this global organization led by Principals who are accountable to one another and to the client,” says Williams. “The remarkable growth of Avison Young in recent years has been designed to preserve an environment of client-focused business by adding quality, seasoned real estate professionals who share the same entrepreneurial spirit and integrity. This is a very exciting opportunity for our entire organization and we look forward to expanding our Manchester team through the recruitment of the next generation of top real estate talent. We are thrilled to be part of the Avison Young family and look forward to working with our new colleagues in Europe and North America.”
Jason Sibthorpe, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the firm’s U.K. region, adds: “We are delighted to have completed this transaction and look forward to integrating our businesses over the coming weeks and months – putting our clients at the centre of our enhanced coverage and capability. Working with our new Principals and colleagues, we will continue to seek intelligent growth opportunities across the U.K.”
