Colliers shares hit after it confirms talks with biggest shareholder

SHARES in property adviser Colliers International UK fell sharply yesterday after the group confirmed that it was in buy-out talks with its biggest shareholder, FirstService Corporation.

Colliers shares fell 24 per cent to 1.1p after the firm said the bid by the Canadian investor, which took control of 29.6 per cent of the group in 2009, represented a “discount to the current share price”.

In September, Colliers revealed it has made a £4 million pre-tax loss in the six months to the end of June. At the time, its chairman, Sir John Ritblat, said he was “confident” of the firm’s medium-term focus after it had “restructured, refocused and rebranded” the business.

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Colliers, part of the larger Seattle-based global network, Colliers International, employs some 700 people in the UK. The firm has about 60 staff in its offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The UK firm rebranded in line with its larger parent group after Toronto-based FirstService took control of the Colliers International brand in 2010.

The potential de-listing of the UK Colliers business comes amid talk that the property advisory industry is facing further consolidation.

Last May, agency Jones Lang Lasalle swooped on King Sturge in a tie-up that created Europe’s biggest commercial property consultancy.

The deal proved lucrative for King Sturge partners, but investors and partners in DTZ were not so lucky when the heavily indebted agency went into administration and was acquired by Australian support services group UGL, leaving many out of pocket.

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