Avison Young Acquires United Kingdom’s Largest Commercial Real Estate Firm

TORONTO — Avison Young has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GVA, the largest full-service, commercial real estate firm in the United Kingdom. Based in London, GVA employs approximately 1,500 people across 15 offices in the U.K., Ireland and Poland. Toronto-based Avison Young has about 2,700 employees across its 85 global offices. The deal, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019, follows a $250 million (in Canadian dollars) preferred equity investment by Canadian institutional fund manager CDPQ in Avison Young’s strategic growth plan. Credit Suisse and KPMG LLP are acting as Avison Young’s financial advisors. BofA Merrill Lynch is acting as financial advisor to GVA’s parent company, Apleona Ltd., a portfolio company owned by global private-equity firm EQT.