TORONTO and LONDON, June 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstService Corporation (Nasdaq: FSRV ) (TSX: FSV ) announced today that its subsidiary, Colliers International ("Colliers") has acquired H2SO Property Consultants ("H2SO"), one of London's leading independent commercial property specialists. The new business will strengthen and expand the rapidly growing UK operations of Colliers, augment its existing investment and office agency expertise and complement the acquisition completed earlier in the year of a leading retail specialist. The addition will also expand operations throughout the UK, Europe and globally as more clients seek service providers to advise them on real transactions around the world. During 2013, the new acquisition generated approximately US$12 million in annual revenue.
Founded in 2009, H2SO employs a large group of high-quality commercial property professionals providing clients with unique market insight and a value-added approach to leasing, investment, development and asset management instructions. Since inception, the business has advised on over £5 billion of capital transactions and leasing instructions representing more than 2.5 million square feet (232,000 square meters) of commercial and office space. Industry leaders Paul Smith, David Hanrahan, Rob Hayes and John Olney will lead the combined Colliers Central London Offices team of more than 40 professionals from 50 George Street in the West End as well as Colliers' new office at 35 King Street in the City.
"One of our key strategic goals is to expand our UK transactional business, particularly in London, and build a team of industry leading professionals that can serve the most discerning clients. This combination of professionals from both organizations will allow us to 'raise the bar' even further in the Central London investment and office market and contribute to the changing landscape of one of the world's leading and most exciting cities," said Tony Horrell, CEO of Colliers UK and Ireland. "Both firms have an enterprising culture and approach to excellence that will help define our service offerings for many years to come," he concluded.
"Integrating our business with Colliers was a natural step for us and one that enables all of our professionals to broaden their service capabilities and service their clients globally," said Rob Hayes of H2SO. Leveraging our combined operations with the expertise and resources of Colliers, the third largest player in commercial real estate globally, will enable us to capitalize on global mandates and deliver customized real estate services to our clients seamlessly, anywhere in the world. We are all thrilled with this development and look forward to the opportunity to grow and develop the business for many years to come."
"I want to take this opportunity to welcome the fine group of professionals from H2SO and look forward to helping them accelerate their success as part of Colliers," said Chris McLernon CEO of the EMEA for Colliers. "Over the years we have been disciplined with the addition of new partners who have the ability and passion to deliver excellence and strive to provide enterprising solutions to clients. We could not have found a better group than the extraordinarily high calibre professionals from H2SO," he concluded.
ABOUT FIRSTSERVICE
FirstService Corporation is a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, one of the largest markets in the world. FirstService manages more than 2.5 billion square feet of residential and commercial properties through its three industry-leading service platforms: Colliers International - one of the largest global players in commercial real estate services; FirstService Residential - North America's largest manager of residential communities; and FirstService Brands - one of North America's largest providers of essential property services delivered through individually branded franchise systems and company-owned operations.
FirstService generates more than US$2.3 billion in annual revenues and has more than 24,000 employees world-wide. With significant insider ownership and an experienced management team, FirstService has a long-term track record of creating value and superior returns for shareholders since becoming a publically listed company in 1993. The common shares of FirstService trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol "FSRV" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "FSV". More information is available at www.firstservice.com .
ABOUT COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
Colliers International is a leading global commercial real estate services company in the world, with over 15,800 professionals operating out of more than 485 offices in 63 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, it focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, mortgage banking and research.
FIRSTSERVICE CONTACT: John Friedrichsen Senior Vice President & CFO (416) 960-9500 COLLIERS CONTACTS: Chris McLernon CEO, Colliers International EMEA 44 20 7487 1651 Tony Horrell CEO, Colliers International UK & Ireland 44 20 7487 1771 H2SO CONTACTS: Rob Hayes 44 20 7788 8954
