Avison Young welcomes 100-plus new Principals to its global partnership base following acquisition of GVA

Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today that it has added 100-plus new Principals following the firm’s recent acquisition of U.K.-based GVA, one of the U.K.'s leading and most diverse real estate advisory businesses.

The new Principals, all based in the U.K., Republic of Ireland and Poland, include senior directors who were formerly with GVA and other new employees from GVA, who have received Avison Young shares along with the right to vote and set the strategy for Avison Young. Avison Young now has more than 600 Principals globally.

Principals of Avison Young are industry leaders who exemplify the firm’s partnership structure, collaborative culture and client-centric business model. In addition, Principals have distinguished themselves in their fields of expertise while embracing the company’s dedication to corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the new Principals to our significantly expanded and enhanced Avison Young family,” comments Rose. “At Avison Young, we provide industry-leading advice to clients throughout the real estate lifecycle. Principals play key roles in every transaction and drive our culture as we place clients, strategy and people before profits. Accordingly, Principals play vital roles in building long-term relationships as we provide an integrated suite of services to clients on a local, national and global scale. Our empowering, client-first model and culture help us attract the very best people and drive benefits for our clients and communities.”

“We are delighted and honoured to be able to welcome 100-plus new Principals in the U.K., Republic of Ireland and Poland,” says Jason Sibthorpe, Avison Young Principal and President, U.K. “To have been able to reignite an ownership structure and partnership culture from the legacy GVA business is a privilege for the approximately 500 original Principals at Avison Young. We look forward to working together with renewed purpose as we build further on our success to date.”

The acquisition of GVA, which closed on January 31, 2019, established Avison Young as the only privately held, Principal-led, global, full-service commercial real estate services firm. The combination also established Avison Young among the top five commercial real estate advisory businesses in the U.K.

“When we merged with Avison Young, one of the most significant attractions was a return to partnership and the opportunity to offer our leaders – current and next generation – an equity stake in our business. The appointment of 100-plus colleagues as Principals is only the start of that opportunity,” notes Gerry Hughes, the former CEO of GVA who is now a Principal of Avison Young and the firm’s Managing Director, U.K. and Managing Director, Global Consultancy.

GVA brought to Avison Young a broad portfolio of national and international clients, including U.K. public institutions, multinational corporations, major space users, developers, owners, lenders and investors. In the U.K. alone, Avison Young now has 18 offices and 1,600 employees working with clients on the transaction and consultancy sides of the business.

“As one of the newly appointed Principals, I speak with one voice when I express our collective excitement and commitment to embrace the significant opportunities that accompany the merger,” says Ros Goode, new Avison Young Principal and Managing Director, London. “We have joined a culture that strongly resonates with us as a legacy partnership and we look forward  to  working with our new colleagues across the Avison Young community, supporting the continued growth and success of our business.”

Avison Young now has approximately 5,000 real estate professionals in 120 offices in 20 countries.

Please click here for the full press release, including the names of those appointed Principals.