The first logistical headache thrown up by the merger of King Sturge and Jones Lang LaSalle has been dealt with: a central London venue with the capacity to host a briefing for staff employed by the combined firm has been found.
With 1,500 London-based employees, two sittings will be necessary this afternoon. It’s an early indication of the scale of the new operation and the challenges that it will face in dealing with a large and disparate pool of staff and clients.
No 100 day plan has yet been written but briefing teams and clients tops the shared agenda of chief executive Andrew Gould and executive chairman Richard Batten. A 10-day, UK tour follows and their intention is to brief, in person, all 2,700 staff employed by the combined firm.
The deal completes on Tuesday but formal discussions have been taking place for some months. Informal discussions stretch back further that that.
Those talks gathered momentum in February when JLL global CEO Colin Dyer met King Sturge’s joint senior partners Richard Batten and Chris Ireland. It was a meeting that for Batten and Ireland offered a solution to a question they had been wrestling with since last September.
Given the capital injection King Sturge would have to make to grow the business across Europe, did it have a viable future as an independent partnership?
The two firms have long been admirers of each other and are convinced of their strategic fit. KS brings strengths in the high-margin residential business, industrial and logistics and other specialist skill sets such as student housing. JLL offers global reach and brand recognition as well as a tremendous reputation in core services.
Details have been hammered out in the background over the last three months with the pace quickening over the last week. Glossy marketing documents for clients have been prepared and a website set up to brief staff. King Sturge partners were briefed six days ago and a vote on Wednesday sealed the deal. It was unanimous.
The next step was to brief clients. That process began last night and continued from 8am this morning. There is more work to do.
If there is a sadness to the deal it’s one acknowledged by both Batten and Gould. King Sturge is a firm with a 250-year history. Its 251st year will see that famous name disappear. It won’t be the last.
For a complete list of all EG’s JLL/KS coverage plus a timeline visit http://www.estatesgazette.com/jll-king-sturge-merger/
