TORONTO, Dec. 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FirstService Corporation (Nasdaq:FSRV) (TSX:FSV) (TSX:FSV.PR.U) today announced that its subsidiary, Colliers International, has acquired a majority interest in Kansas City market leader, The Winbury Group and in one of St. Louis' largest and most prestigious property management and agency leasing firms, EVS Realty Advisors, establishing two more important regional hubs to service local, regional, national and international clients in the US Midwest. Senior management and key executives of each firm will retain an equity interest in their respective companies. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed. All dollar amounts are in US dollars.
Founded in 1989, The Winbury Group is the leading full service commercial real estate services firm headquartered in Kansas City. With more than 100 real estate services professionals, Winbury provides sale and lease transaction services, real estate advisory, and asset and property management services for more than 6 million square feet of commercial property in the greater Kansas City region. Winbury will immediately rebrand its operations to Colliers International.
EVS Realty Advisors was founded in 2003, and is one of St. Louis's highest profile property management and agency leasing companies managing more than 2.5 million square feet of Class A office space. In addition, EVS provides sales brokerage, real estate advisory and asset management services. EVS will immediately rebrand its operations to Colliers International.
Colliers International provides real estate services globally through more than 15,000 specialized professionals in more than 480 offices in 61 countries around the world. Over the past 12 months, Colliers provided advice on more than $52 billion in transactions and, together with its affiliates, manages more than 2 billion square feet of real estate globally. Colliers International is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 global outsourcing firms by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals as well as one of the World's Best Outsourcing Advisors. In 2009, Colliers International was named the Corporate Real Estate Partner of the Year at the CoreNet Global Awards.
"Partnering with senior management and key executives of The Winbury Group and EVS Realty Advisors is the essence of our partnership philosophy and enterprising culture," said Dylan Taylor, CEO of Colliers International USA. "Both Winbury and EVS are leaders in their respective markets; have significant growth opportunities; and will benefit from the operating systems and global platform of one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the world. Colliers International is committed to being a market leader in all major US markets, as well as key financial centers around the world. We are pleased to welcome our new partners into Colliers International."
"The acquisitions of Winbury and EVS are further examples of the power of our proven partnership philosophy, combining the financial resources and market reach of a global enterprise with local market knowledge, equity ownership and flexibility," said Jay S. Hennick, Founder and CEO of FirstService. "We have built FirstService by supporting outstanding people who have a significant ownership interest in the businesses they operate day-to-day. Having an ownership interest means our partners go the extra mile to service our clients since the outcome of this effort has a direct impact on the value of the investment in their business."
ABOUT FIRSTSERVICE
FirstService Corporation is a global diversified leader in the rapidly growing property services sector, providing services in the following three areas: commercial real estate, residential property management; and property services. The industry-leading service platform includes Colliers International, the 3rd largest global player in commercial real estate services; FirstService Residential Management, the largest manager of residential communities in North America; and TFC, North America's largest provider of property services through franchise and contractor networks.
FirstService generates about US $2 billion in annualized revenues and has over 18,000 employees worldwide. More information about FirstService is available at .
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.
CONTACT: FirstService Corporation Jay S. Hennick, Founder & CEO John B. Friedrichsen, Senior Vice President & CFO (416) 960-9500 Colliers International, USA Dylan Taylor, President & CEO (206) 604-4931