Altus Group, the commercial real estate services, software and data firm, announced today that it has doubled its business rates practice in the UK by buying Commercial Valuers & Surveyors(CVS) for £36.3 million.
CVS is a privately-owned property tax service provider that specialises in business rates advisory services. The acquisition has a number of key benefits for Altus Group.
For a start it significantly expands the company’s market share in the UK and positions the Group as the country’s leading business rates advisor based on volume of appeals filed.
It also adds strength to the Company’s business rates expertise with the addition of approximately 230 professionals based in London, Manchester and Bristol, bringing the UK practice to over 400 people.
A company spokesman said that Altus is now positioned for further growth in the UK market and it scales and complements Altus Group’s data on comparable property information, giving the Company a greater competitive advantage to better serve clients in business rates appeals and lease negotiations.
Altus Group Chief Executive Officer Robert Courteau said the acquisition of CVS underlines his outfit’s ambition to grow our business in the UK.
“The UK is a market which we believe is extremely important and strategic to our growth. Bringing CVS under the Altus Group brand more than doubles our business rates practice in the UK, while significantly broadening our scale, talent resources and market share in the country”, he said.
“It positions us well to capitalise on the growth opportunity presented by the rates revaluation that took place earlier this year and the new five-year revaluation cycle that commenced with it. The combination of our comprehensive data on joint property information will also better position us to serve our clients in appeals and lease negotiations while supporting our ongoing initiatives to modernize our offerings with data and technology.”
Operating for over 17 years, CVS has gained substantial market share in the UK property market and is widely recognized as the largest provider of business rates advisory services based on the volume of appeals. It specialises in tax representation for all types of commercial properties including office, retail and industrial bulk classes. CVS’s primary services include business rates reduction (reducing property taxes for businesses and other organizations that occupy commercial premises). CVS’s team of approximately 230 professionals will form part of the Company’s UK Property Tax division, strengthening its business rates expertise.
The cost of this acquisition was £36.3 million. Altus Group paid a total of £30.3 million in cash on closing with an additional £6.0 million payable two years after closing, subject to certain conditions being met.
On closing, £25.3 million was from cash on hand and £5.0 was drawn from the revolving term facility. The acquisition is expected to be financially accretive over the course of the new revaluation cycle.
