Global real estate firm Avison Young has made another acquisition, this time its first in Germany.
The firm has acquired office leasing and investment sales brokerage firm Völckers & Cie Immobilien GmbH Real Estate Advisors, based in Hamburg.
The deal adds another 20 members to the AY team including the German firm’s co-founders Jochen Völckers, who becomes principal and managing director of the Hamburg unit; and Marc Bachmann becomes Principal and Director of Office Leasing, Hamburg.
“With Völckers & Cie, they have built and grown one of the strongest and most talented real estate brokerage organizations in Hamburg,” commented Avison Young’s chair and CEO Mark E. Rose. “Their sophisticated market knowledge, positive client and business relationships, outstanding leadership skills and entrepreneurism will be of tremendous Partnership. Performance Page 2 of 4 benefit to our company, clients and partners alike as we continue to expand our full-service business-line coverage in Germany and across Europe.”
European expansion
AY already operates in Germany, having opened an office in Frankfurt in 2014 but this is its first acquisition in the country and ties in with its expansion in Europe following its acquisition of UK-based GVA earlier this year.
“This acquisition is the next step on our mission to establish a pan-European real estate advisory service,” states Gerry Hughes, Avison Young Principal and President, Europe. “We see Europe as having huge potential for our business model. We have an already fully established formula in the U.K. and a platform in Germany to develop. The acquisition of Völckers & Cie is another important step in expanding the German offer. In the next 18 months, we will build out our business line in Germany to include a range of consultancy services, expand in Poland, and open owned enterprises in the Netherlands, Ireland and France. We will also make full use of our legacy GVA Worldwide affiliate network to offer complete coverage across every European market.”
