Sherry FitzGerald to sell remaining commercial property stake to Cushman & Wakefield

Irish property group Sherry FitzGerald has agreed to sell the remaining 80 per cent stake in its commercial property arm to global player Cushman & Wakefield for an undisclosed sum.

This gives Cushman & Wakefield 100 per cent ownership of the commercial business here, having originally taken a 20 per cent shareholding in 1998.

Sherry Fitz has operated as the exclusive affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield in the Republic for a number of years, rebranding two years ago as Cushman & Wakefield Ireland. The deal is expected to complete in September.

More than 100 Sherry Fitz staff will be impacted by the transaction, and were informed of the transaction at lunchtime on Monday.

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It is understood that some of the funds from the sale will be reinvested in the residential business of Sherry Fitz, Ireland’s biggest estate agent. Shareholders are also expected to benefit from the transaction.

The deal will result in the Irish business being fully integrated into Cushman & Wakefield’s global operation, which comprises about 48,000 staff across 400 offices in 70 countries.

Sherry Fitz will continue to be a strategic partner for Cushman & Wakefield post the completion of the deal.

The commercial property group’s managing director, Aidan Gavin, will become Cushman & Wakefield’s head of Ireland, and will also sit on its UK and Ireland executive committee.

As part of the transaction Cushman & Wakefield will also acquire from Sherry FitzGerald Group a minority share in its affiliate commercial property businesses in Cork and Belfast.

Mr Gavin said the business has gone from “strength to strength” since adopting the Cushman & Wakefield brand.

“We have real momentum in the marketplace. We now have the opportunity to move to the next stage by leveraging the resources of our global network to shape the future of Irish property.”

Sherry Fitz’s chief executive Steven McKenna said the deal provided the group with the “opportunity to back our ambitious plans to continue developing our core business”.

Smarter business

“We will shortly be opening our 100th office in Ireland, and are equally focused on providing a smarter business for the benefit of our clients through imaginative technology.

“It makes sense for Cushman & Wakefield to solely own their Irish commercial business and equally it makes sense for us to have a simplified ownership structure and single brand.”

Colin Wilson, chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Cushman & Wakefield, described the deal as an “exciting next step” in a relationship that began 20 years ago.

He said it reflected the “significant increase” in cross-Border projects on which the two companies had been collaborating.

“We expect further growth as the Irish economy continues to strengthen and we integrate fully as a single firm with a truly seamless operation between Ireland and the UK.”