National | November 9, 2018

Avison Young Acquiring U.K.-based GVA

Toronto-based Avison Young and Apleona Limited, a portfolio company owned by global private-equity firm EQT, entered into a definitive agreement for Avison Young to acquire GVA, a subsidiary of Apleona and one of the U.K.’s leading and most diverse real estate advisory-led businesses. Avison Young will combine GVA with Avison Young’s existing U.K. operations.

Avison Young’s Mark E. Rose says, “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome GVA to Avison Young. This is a transformational event that underpins our ambition and intent to significantly expand our footprint in Europe and beyond. Avison Young’s U.K. business will now be a genuine challenger brand firmly established among the top commercial real estate advisors in the U.K., North America and the world.”

Watch the video above to hear more from our exclusive interview with Rose about the deal with GVA and what it means for the company.

London-based GVA is a multi-disciplinary business offering clients a service that spans the entire property life cycle from strategy and planning through to delivery and management. The firm has 1,500 employees in 15 offices in the UK, Ireland and Poland. Avison Young currently has 2,700 real estate professionals in 85 offices in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the UK, Germany, Romania and Korea.

The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019.

Pictured (left to right) Jason Sibthorpe, Principal and U.K. Managing Director, Avison Young; Gerry Hughes, CEO, GVA; Andreas Aschenbrenner, Partner at EQT Partners; Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young

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About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.

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