Cushman To Buy Remaining 80% Of Sherry Fitzgerald’s Commercial Property Business
Cushman & Wakefield has agreed to buy the 80% stake in Sherry FitzGerald’s commercial business that it doesn’t already own.
The real estate giant has been a 20% shareholder in the operation since its global merger with DTZ in 2015. Sherry FitzGerald had been DTZ’s Irish partner since 1998. The firm was rebranded from DTZ Sherry FitzGerald two years ago and became Cushman & Wakefield’s exclusive affiliate in Ireland.
The commercial terms of this deal, which is expected to complete in September, have not been disclosed.
The Irish business employs more than 100 people across offices in Dublin, Limerick and Galway.
As part of the deal, Cushman & Wakefield will buy a minority share in Sherry FitzGerald’s affiliate commercial property businesses in Cork and Belfast. Cushman & Wakefield said it will also continue to work with Sherry FitzGerald on new homes sales, residential sales and lettings, portfolio auctions and valuations.
Current Managing Director Aidan Gavin will become Head of Ireland at Cushman & Wakefield and will also sit on the company’s U.K. and Ireland executive committee.
According to Gavin, the Irish business has gone from strength to strength since the 2016 rebrand. “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,” he said.
Colin Wilson, Cushman's chief executive for EMEA, described the agreement as reflecting a significant increase in cross-border projects on which 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 U.K.,” he said.
Sherry FitzGerald chief executive Steven McKenna said the sale would back his company’s “ambitious plans” to continue developing its own core business. “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,” he said.
Cushman & Wakefield, which had revenue of nearly $7B in 2017, employs 48,000 people in approximately 400 offices and 70 countries. Last month, the company filed for an initial public offering.
