TORONTO, July 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstService Corporation (Nasdaq:FSRV) (TSX:FSV) announced today that its subsidiary, Colliers International ("Colliers"), has acquired McKenzie Hall Pty Limited, a specialty retail management and leasing business operating across Australia's east coast. The McKenzie Hall team of more than 30 real estate professionals and support personnel will be integrated into Colliers and will continue to manage the 45 retail and large format centres currently in their portfolio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"Building our retail property expertise has been a major focus for us over the last five years," said John Kenny, CEO Australia and New Zealand at Colliers. "McKenzie Hall is well-known in the industry as having one of the strongest shopping centre and large format retail management and leasing capabilities in Australia. We see this acquisition as complementing our existing retail management, capital transaction and project leasing capabilities. It also follows previous acquisitions of specialty retail businesses in Western Australia and New Zealand," he concluded.
"We are thrilled to be joining this enterprising, forward-looking organization, and were particularly attracted to Colliers' culture and existing expertise in the retail sector. By joining forces, we can now provide better opportunities to both our clients and our team as we become part of a global enterprise," said McKenzie Hall Executive Directors, Tony Draper and Dale McDermid. "Our clients will continue to be serviced by the same great team, but will now have access to a broader range of services including capital transactions, valuations, consultancy, and research both nationally and globally."
Across Australia and New Zealand, Colliers manages over 150 retail assets and is currently delivering more than 65 retail leasing projects representing approximately 3.8 million square feet of space. During the current year-to-date, Colliers has transacted over $1.5 billion worth of retail asset sales in the Australia and New Zealand region.
ABOUT FIRSTSERVICE CORPORATION
FirstService Corporation is a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, one of the largest markets in the world. FirstService manages more than 2.5 billion square feet of residential and commercial properties through its three industry-leading service platforms: Colliers International - one of the largest global players in commercial real estate services; FirstService Residential - North America's largest manager of residential communities; and FirstService Brands - one of North America's largest providers of essential property services delivered through individually branded franchise systems and company-owned operations.
FirstService generates more than US$2.3 billion in annual revenues and has more than 24,000 employees world-wide. With significant insider ownership and an experienced management team, FirstService has a long-term track record of creating value and superior returns for shareholders since becoming a publically listed company in 1993. The common shares of FirstService trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol "FSRV" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "FSV". More information is available at www.firstservice.com.
ABOUT COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
Colliers International is a global leader in commercial real estate services, with over 15,800 professionals operating out of more than 485 offices in 63 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, Colliers International delivers a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, mortgage banking and insightful research. The latest annual survey by the Lipsey Company ranked Colliers International as the second-most recognized commercial real estate firm in the world.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements included in this release contain words such as "could", "expects", "expectations", "may", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates" and "plans" (and similar expressions) and constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities law. These statements are based on FirstService's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which FirstService and its subsidiaries operate. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are difficult to predict and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of FirstService, or outcomes or results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following: general economic and business conditions which will, among other things, impact demand for the FirstService's services, service industry conditions and capacity and the cost of providing services; the ability of FirstService to implement its business strategy, including FirstService's ability to acquire suitable acquisition candidates on acceptable terms and successfully integrate newly acquired businesses with its existing businesses; changes in or the failure to comply with government regulations (especially safety and environmental laws and regulations); and other factors which are described in FirstService's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian regulatory authorities. These statements, although considered reasonable by FirstService at the date of this press release, may prove to be inaccurate and consequently FirstService's actual results could differ materially from its expectations as set out or implied in this release. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, FirstService disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.