Avison Young Plants Flag in Europe

CHICAGO, TORONTO—In the past few years, Avison Young has expanded across Canada and then the US, opening dozens of offices to better serve its globe-trotting clients. And the firm has just opened its first European office by acquiring Haywards LLP, a London-based commercial real estate services firm. Mark E. Rose, the Chicago- and Toronto-based chair and chief executive officer of Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com that this new location is the launching pad for a European expansion.

“This has all been part of the strategic plan put forward five years ago,” he says. “Everything we do is dictated by clients and many of our clients are global.” For example, last year the firm helped Germany-based Hannover Leasing GmbH & Co. KG on the approximately £142 million sale of 30 Crown Place, a 192,070-square-foot office building in London.