Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has announced it 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 has a 20% stake in the Irish commercial property business which operated as its exclusive affiliate in the Republic – 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, one of the world’s largest real estate services firms with 48,000 employees in approximately 400 offices and 70 countries.
Managing Director Aidan Gavin becomes Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of Ireland and will also sit 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 the Republic.
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.”
Aidan Gavin, Head of Ireland at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Our business has gone from strength to strength since adopting the Cushman & Wakefield brand and we have real momentum in the marketplace. 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.”
Steven McKenna, Chief Executive Officer at Sherry FitzGerald Group, said: “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. We are also pleased to continue our extremely close professional relationship with Cushman & Wakefield Ireland.”
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.