Canada-based firm expands global partnership base following acquisition of GVA; Avison Young now has more than 600 Principals worldwide.

Canada-based firm expands global partnership base following acquisition of GVA; Avison Young now has more than 600 Principals worldwide.

The new Principals, all based in the U.K., Republic of Ireland and Poland, include senior directors who were formerly with GVA and other new employees from GVA, who have received Avison Young shares along with the right to vote and set the strategy for Avison Young. Avison Young now has more than 600 Principals globally.

Principals of Avison Young are industry leaders who exemplify the firm’s partnership structure, collaborative culture and client-centric business model. In addition, Principals have distinguished themselves in their fields of expertise while embracing the company’s dedication to corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the new Principals to our significantly expanded and enhanced Avison Young family,” comments Mark Rose, Chair, CEO of Avison Young. “At Avison Young, we provide industry-leading advice to clients throughout the real estate lifecycle. Principals play key roles in every transaction and drive our culture as we place clients, strategy and people before profits. Accordingly, Principals play vital roles in building long-term relationships as we provide an integrated suite of services to clients on a local, national and global scale. Our empowering, client-first model and culture help us attract the very best people and drive benefits for our clients and communities.”

The new Principals are: Stuart Agnew, Craig Alsbury, Nick Alston, Julian Andrews, James Attfield, Robert Baldwin, Tony Baldwin, John Barker, Steven Barker, John Barnett, Simon Beanland, Mark Beaumont, Mark Birks, Virginia Blackman, Mike Blinco, Gavin Brent, Guy Brett, Adrian Brooks, Steven Brown, Tim Brown, Tony Burchett, Alastair Carmichael, Christopher Cheap, Andrew Cherry, Paul Chesworth, Peter Constantine, Frank Convery, Stephen Cowperthwaite, Barry Crichton, Michal Cwiklinski, James Dair, Jo Davis, Chris Dumas, Ian Elliott, Graham Fairhurst, Andrew Foster, Mark Frampton, Sharon French, Richard Gaunt, Mark Gibney, Michael Gill, Ros Goode, Chris Gore, Mary Greaves, Nick Hardy, Duncan Harkness, Gordon Hewling, Jonathan Hillcox, Barnaby Hillsdon, Paul Holcombe, Edward Horne, Richard Howell, Stuart Howie, Gerry Hughes, Gordon Isgrove, Derick Jackson, David Jones, Greg Judd, Mike King, Ellie Kirkby, Jacob Kut, Danny Lafferty, Damian Lloyd, Iain Lock, Chris Lockwood, Paul Manning, Tom Marshall, David Martin, Gordon Martin, Padraic McGuinn, Robert McLoughlin, Layne Mercer, Rebecca Millard, Simon Miller, Patrick Morrissey, Andrew Moss, Howard Neal, Peter O’Brien, Patrick O’Keeffe, Leonie Oliva, Claire Paraskeva, Nathan Pask, Julia Penfold, Roger Phillips, Carl Potter, Nick Power, Jeremy Prosser, Sharon Reilly, Leigh Richardson, Lorne Satchwell, Jason Shaw, Laura Stamboulieh, Ian Steele, Lee Stentiford, Chris Stevens, Richard Stonehouse, Thomas Stratton, Ian Stringer, Alison Taylor, Martin Taylor, Parul Thakrar, Guy Thompson, Charles Toogood, Denise Trollope, Neil Walters, Craig Ward, Michael Whear, Patrick Whitby, Richard Williams, David Willmer, David Winterbottom and Martin Woods.

“We are delighted and honoured to be able to welcome 100-plus new Principals in the U.K., Republic of Ireland and Poland,” says Jason Sibthorpe, Avison Young Principal and President, U.K. “To have been able to reignite an ownership structure and partnership culture from the legacy GVA business is a privilege for the approximately 500 original Principals at Avison Young. We look forward to working together with renewed purpose as we build further on our success to date.”

The acquisition of GVA, which closed on January 31, 2019, established Avison Young as the only privately held, Principal-led, global, full-service commercial real estate services firm. The combination also established Avison Young among the top five commercial real estate advisory businesses in the U.K.

“When we merged with Avison Young, one of the most significant attractions was a return to partnership and the opportunity to offer our leaders – current and next generation – an equity stake in our business. The appointment of 100-plus colleagues as Principals is only the start of that opportunity,” notes Gerry Hughes, the former CEO of GVA who is now a Principal of Avison Young and the firm’s Managing Director, U.K. and Managing Director, Global Consultancy.

GVA brought to Avison Young a broad portfolio of national and international clients, including U.K. public institutions, multinational corporations, major space users, developers, owners, lenders and investors.

“As one of the newly appointed Principals, I speak with one voice when I express our collective excitement and commitment to embrace the significant opportunities that accompany the merger,” says Ros Goode, new Avison Young Principal and Managing Director, London. “We have joined a culture that strongly resonates with us as a legacy partnership and we look forward to working with our new colleagues across the Avison Young community, supporting the continued growth and success of our business.”

Avison Young now has approximately 5,000 real estate professionals in 120 offices in 20 countries.

As a result of the acquisition, Avison Young added offices in: the United Kingdom (London, Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Maidenhead, Manchester, Newcastle); Austria (Vienna); Bulgaria (Sofia); China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai); Croatia (Zagreb); France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Paris); Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki); Italy (Milan, Rome); Norway (Oslo); Poland (Warsaw); Republic of Ireland (Dublin); Romania (Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara); Russia (Moscow); Spain (Madrid); and United Arab Emirates (Dubai).

The acquisition also enabled Avison Young to increase its revenue to 25 times its 2008 level to approximately C$1 billion.

Rose concludes: “This is another exciting and memorable day in the history of Avison Young in connection with our combination with GVA. Our people are united in working towards a common purpose, that our places build people, and we want real estate to have a positive impact on people’s lives. This approach drives a culture that is based on mutual respect, open communication and collaboration, putting diversity of thought and well-being at its heart. Our 100-plus new Principals will help us ensure that we hold true to our common purpose.”