July 2015
Equiteq is pleased to announce the sale of its client GL Hearn for a cash consideration of £25m on a cash free, debt free basis, plus a deferred consideration of £5m. The deal was completed on 7 July 2015.
Equiteq, the lead M&A advisor for the deal, is a consulting sector merger and acquisition specialist, providing both growth advisory and M&A transaction services to the global consulting and IT services industry. GL Hearn, a market-leading property consultancy business, was established in 1923 as an independent UK property consultancy providing advice to land owners, developers, house builders, investors, retailers and the public sector. Its client list includes some of the UK’s largest retailers and developers, as well as a number of other blue chip companies. GL Hearn reported an operating profit of £5.8m on turnover of £31.2m in its last financial year up to 31 May 2015. Dan Bowtell, Lead Advisor for Equiteq said: “GL Hearn is a fantastic business and was one of the few remaining independent UK property consultancies of any scale. During the last three years the business made significant investments to strengthen its presence in London and further develop its business rates team. This helped position GL Hearn as a platform for growth for the next five years and drove significant interest from potential acquirers. “ Commenting on the deal, Brian Sloggett, managing director of GL Hearn, said: “This acquisition will allow us to grow the company in a way that would be impossible without the acquirer’s scale, expertise and experience. There are a number of synergies between the two businesses, both in terms of complementary service lines and access to a range of new clients on both sides.” To see all of our deals, please click here. ©Equiteq 2015