EXPO REAL 2016: Big name resignations from rival firms will start to play into the hands of Colliers UK, according to the company’s UK chief executive Tony Horrell.
Speaking at Expo Real in Munich he said: “All of the moves and the noise you are hearing out there present opportunities for us. Our strategy has never changed despite the referendum result and we will be continuing to grow organically through the recruitment of a grade individuals and selective mergers and acquisitions. When you see some potential names moving from some of the larger companies, that will play into our hands and in some cases those individuals have already joined us.”
This week senior CBRE investment agents James Leach and Ed Gamble resigned from CBRE, as did Andrew Thomas, partner in the central London investment team at Cushman & Wakefield. Those resignations followed those of JLL directors, Damian Corbett and Chris Northam last month.
Horrell, who made a play to buy Tony Gibbon and Tony McCurley’s GM Real Estate last year, predicted more M&A in the near future.
“There will more M&A with acquisitions of niche players. In terms of consolidations in the sector between the larger firms, some will be tried and some tried again and it will be no surprise to me. That may well be the case,” he said.
Investing within the business despite the relative slowdown in the UK would be predicacted in part by building sustainable income streams at Colliers, Horrell said.
“It is important to make sure there is a good balance between professional, recurring income and transactional income but the key thing for us is to improve and add to the A-grade bench-strength of our teams. We will do that, whether at the youngest level or senior director level. I probably spend around 25% of my time on recruiting people or M&A discussions.”
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