FINANCE: The first investors eyeing Cushman & Wakefield came to light this week as the property consultancy announced record figures for the year ended 31 December 2014.
Just days after announcing a 14% increase in gross revenues to $2.8bn (£1.9bn), Shanghai-based Fosun became the first name to be linked with an acquisition of the agent.
The firm launched a strategic review of the business, looking at “potential strategic alternatives” last month. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are advising. A sale price of as much as $2bn has been mooted, which would reflect a multiple of more than 10 based on its latest EBITDA of $175m, which was up by 21% on 2013’s figures.
Following his first full year as president and chief executive, Edward Forst said: “Our collaboration across geographies and services resulted in record revenue and profitability, solidifying our position as a top-tier global real estate services firm.”
Asia Pacific was the big performer across those geographies, posting a 25% increase in fee revenue to $172.8m.
The Americas remained the business’s largest income base, with more than $1.4bn in fees in 2014, a 15.2% increase on the previous year.
Corporate occupier and investor services was the best-performing service sector. Its income rose by more than 42% to $604.7m, up from $425.4m in 2013.
Capital markets also showed double-digit growth, up by 16.2% to $309.7m.
Revenues rose by 7.1% in leasing to $955.4m and by just 0.9% in valuation and advisory and global consulting.
The acquisition of New York-based investment firm Massey Knakal at the end of last year led to an increase in the company’s net debt position to $68m, up from just $8.6m a year earlier.
C&W also refinanced a $500m senior credit facility during the year.
| At a glance | ||
|---|---|---|
| Item | 2014 ($) | 2013 ($) |
| Revenue | 2.8bn | 2.5bn |
| EBITDA | 175.4m | 145m |
| Net income | 61.6m | 46.2m |
| Net debt | 68m | 8.6m |
| Source: Cushman & Wakefield | ||
