Background
Edwin Hill, now Altus Edwin Hill, is an established independent UK property consulting partnership. It operated out of six offices with an employee complement of 130 people and achieved fee income of approximately £14m.
Having developed the business and successfully grown it into a highly regarded and leading commercial property consultancy, and having received several unsolicited expressions of interest in acquiring the business, the Edwin Hill partners sought to explore fully the strategic options available to them, including the sale of the business to a large international property consultancy group.
Edwin Hill specified that their preferred buyer be an overseas property consultancy who wished to enter the UK market through the acquisition of the business, whilst working with the partners to expand the business both in the UK and Continental Europe. This expansion would to some extent include growth through acquisition and would provide significant career opportunities for the partners and staff of Edwin Hill.
Our role
- To advise on the sale of the partnership
- To work alongside the Edwin Hill partners to prepare an Information Memorandum, including a summary of the partnership, its trading activities and the business opportunity available to an acquirer
- To identify and profile potential trade buyers, both UK and overseas, of the business
- Leading the negotiations with interested parties and agree Heads of Terms to the satisfaction of the partners
- Work with the senior partners to project manage the transaction through the due diligence and legal process to ensure completion in accordance with the agreed completion timetable.
The result
By combining our knowledge of the UK and international property consultancy markets with our research capabilities we were able to identify The Altus Group and correctly assessing them as being close to developing their business internationally.
The Altus Group was formed in 1999 by the merger of a number of property consultancies within Canada. In May 2005 they floated on the Toronto Stock Exchange and have made a number of subsequent acquisitions within Canada.
We made contact with The Altus Group and confirmed that they were indeed looking to expand their business on the international stage and that the UK was a prime country for them to make their first international acquisition.
By establishing a dialogue we were able to develop their interest in the Edwin Hill business. We facilitated discussions and relationship building between both parties’ management teams and were able to successfully negotiate Heads of Terms to the satisfaction of the Edwin Hill partners.
The deal was completed in October 2007 in accordance with the terms set out in the Heads of Terms and to the agreed timetable.