Colliers International’s new UK chief executive, the charming Tony Horrell, this week laid bare his plans for the listed agent.
“To use a footballing analogy, we’re currently mid-table, but I see no reason why we shouldn’t be challenging for a European place in the next three to four years,” says Horrell, the former head of capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle.
After three months in the job as David Izett’s replacement, Horrell has published the results of his review of the 720-strong company and how he plans to turn it from a mid-market agency into a heavyweight consultancy.
Horrell’s main aim is to boost the loss-making company’s fortunes in his own key area of strength – the central London office market – and in retail.
“We have a good base, but we have to scale up and add business,” says Horrell. “Colliers is known for its specialist services – hotels, healthcare, automotive. They’re good niches to have but you’ve got to get core services.
“Offices are ubiquitous. They make up 55% of the UK commercial real estate market. Retail makes up another 30%. When you look at the UK marketplace, central London offices is the area with the highest value, but it’s an area we don’t do enough in.”
Recruitment
To achieve this, Horrell aims to recruit around 15 senior directors, whom he plans to poach from larger competitors, niche agents and property companies. He says he is already in discussions with two and has been approached by others.
He adds that, although he could go out and acquire a business, like the firm did in 2008 when it bought Godfrey Vaughan for £7m, he prefers individuals.
“I want to build a sustainable business and you don’t have to spend time integrating teams if you put it together right,” he says. “We’re not building a sand castle that could be torn down by the sea. We’re trying to build a cathedral that will last.”
It is an ambitious aim in a competitive market where most of the big firms are attempting to expand their lucrative office and retail teams.
Colliers’ previous chief executive, Izett, who left the company in August after nine years, spoke repeatedly of a “global aspiration to reach the top tier” for the firm, which was ranked 11th by turnover in EG‘s last top agents survey.
Expansion
Horrell says he now has the firepower to expand the business with backing from Canadian parent, FirstService, which purchased a 29.9% stake in the company in 2009.
“We are a global company and we enjoy strong support from the global business,” says Horrell. “How much it costs depends on how quickly we do what we do and what teams we get, but it could be into the millions.”
Horrell believes that Colliers can win the instructions to justify this outlay, citing its recent instruction to find tenants for Sellar Group’s London Bridge Quarter, SE1, as an example.
And winning these instructions will come from Colliers’ new focus on providing just that little bit more, says Horrell.
“A Colliers watchword is that we want to make our service ‘a memorable experience’,” he says. “It’s not just keeping the contract, but going beyond the natural call of duty.
“For example, in a relationship, if the guy goes the extra step and sends a clever message or flowers, it shows he’s thinking about you. That’s the sort of level of service I want from Colliers. We might not send all our clients flowers, but we want them to feel good about coming to us.”
