T
op agencies have joined the frenzy of consolidation as they seek to gain market share amid improving trading conditions.
DTZ is reported to be preparing a $2bn (£1.3bn) bid for its rival Cushman & Wakefield in a deal that would see the enlarged company become the second- largest property advisory firm in the world behind CBRE and ahead of JLL.
C&W was put up for sale by majority owner Exor, which is owned by the Agnelli family, in February. Chinese conglomerate Fosun International is also running the rule over C&W and the sellers are thought to prefer a deal that would prevent it falling into the hands of a direct rival. C&W itself has this week bought Chicago’s largest office leasing agency, JF McKinney + Associates.
Elsewhere, Savills has acquired a UK business and two US entities. It has agreed a deal to buy rural and residential specialist Smiths Gore, paying as much as £40m for the firm, which has 532 staff, 31 UK offices and 14 estate offices.
Savills executive director Philip Gready said rural land had seen “some of the highest capital returns over the past decade”.
In the US, the firm has completed the takeover of Cooper Brady Partners, a Californian tenant rep firm based in Silicon Valley, and Vertical Integration, an occupier-focused adviser based in Tampa, Florida.
Savills is expanding its Stateside presence after buying Studley in May last year.
Back in the UK, Lambert Smith Hampton has bolstered its presence in the retail sector by buying niche, Manchester-based Tushingham Moore. David Moore, the firm’s senior partner, will become head of the North West region for LSH.
LSH has been expanding aggressively in the past year, having bought ES Group in February and Northern Irish agent BTW Shiells in June 2014.
