Economic Downturn
Accelerates
Achievement
of Strategic Goal
Since its inception, FirstService has pursued a disciplined
approach to growth with a view to creating long-term value
for our shareholders ... one step at a time!
In 2004, FirstService entered the commercial real estate
services segment through the acquisition of Colliers Macaulay
Nicolls ("CMN"), the largest shareholder of privately held Colliers
International Property Consultants ("Colliers International").
The deal was one step unlike any other in our history and opened
exceptional new opportunities for growth.
Our plan was to use CMN as a platform to build a significant
commercial real estate business over the long-term and
ultimately, to gain control of the global Colliers International
brand. We were determined to remain true to our disciplined
approach, while demonstrating the FirstService advantage.
This combination worked very well for us, and in 2009 we
achieved our strategic goal of gaining control of Colliers
International, well ahead of schedule.
From the outset CMN was the role model for the larger Colliers
organization. CMN invested heavily in operations, technology,
and professional development. Our involvement with
CMN strengthened the business in many ways including
financially and operationally. We also introduced our
successful partnership model to the industry. If senior
leaders retain direct equity in the businesses they operate
day to day, they will ensure clients receive the highest level
of service and consistent delivery over the long-term.
As FirstService-owned operations began to outperform
the others, we were able to acquire additional operations
in large and vital U.S. markets such as Los Angeles
(Colliers Seeley 2005) and Boston (Colliers Meredith
& Grew 2006). Outside the U.S., other shareholders of
Colliers International in key markets, like Brazil, Central
and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Netherlands, also
chose to partner with FirstService by selling a majority
of their equity. Each of these acquisitions added another
Colliers branded business, and each also increased our
stake in Colliers International.
At the same time, FirstService took steps to diversify its revenue
streams and broaden its service offerings by adding Denver based
PGP Property Valuation (2006), San Francisco-based PKF
Consulting and PKF Hospitality Research (2007) and Canadian based
MHPM Project Managers (2007).
FirstService funded this impressive growth by intensifying
its focus on global real estate services and redeploying
capital. The divestiture of our Business Services (2006) and
Integrated Security divisions (2008) provided orderly exit
strategies from both businesses and rewarded shareholders
for their capital contributions to the development of both.
These decisions, together with the strong cash flow generated
from the residential property management and property
service divisions put FirstService in an excellent position
to capitalize when the time was right. That time arrived
with the onset of the global recession in 2008.
The economic downturn created an exceptional opportunity
for FirstService as coveted acquisition targets, unavailable
in a strong market, began to seek partners to weather the
financial storm. FirstService acted decisively in New York
with the acquisition of GVA Williams (2008) and in London
with a significant investment in Colliers CRE (2009). Both
of these investments established global gateways to two
of the world's most important real estate markets.
By the close of 2009, FirstService had accomplished its goal
by taking control of Colliers International. With 228
company-owned offices in 41 countries and partners
in another 20, Colliers International opens more doors,
in more places, for clients around the globe.
Over the past five years FirstService has dedicated itself
to liberating the full potential of this enterprise -- building
the world's third largest commercial real estate services
firm and in the process, creating significant value for our
shareholders today and for many years to come.
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