Avison Young has acquired the office and industrial property management, agency leasing, and project management service lines of Washington, D.C.-based developer Madison Marquette. Avison Young, the Toronto-based commercial real estate firm, is expected to close the acquisition and partnership deal in September, and it will bolster the firm’s brokerage and management presence in Texas, California, and the East Coast.
The deal should bring more than 20 million square feet of properties under management and add 235 employees to Avison Young in 11 states, ranging from brokers to managers to engineers. The terms of the acquisition haven’t been disclosed yet, but Madison Marquette CEO Vince Costantini said his firm’s decision to sell its service lines was mainly because of the ultra-competitive nature of the global commercial office brokerage industry. “We decided 6 months ago that the office service sector is increasingly dominated by giant firms throwing massive amounts of technology at it. So, it’s hard to compete as a smaller player,” Costantini said.
After the acquisition, Madison Marquette looks to sharpen its investment management and advisory services focused on retail, mixed-use, multifamily, office, medical, and senior living assets. While mega-deals like a Cushman & Wakefield-Newmark merger may not happen, Avison Young’s acquisition of Madison Marquette is another recent example of how large brokerages focus on gobbling up regional firms and service niches to grow their existing business in a very competitive landscape.