Savills buys Spain's Aguirre Newman for EUR67m

Savills has announced the acquisition of Spanish real estate advisory business, Aguirre Newman, for up to €67m, which is payable in instalments over five years from completion.

The deal is expected to complete by the end of November and the purchase consideration will be funded from Savills cash and existing banking facilities.

Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Madrid, Aguirre provides agency, investment, management, architectural, consultancy, valuation, planning, corporate finance and asset management services. For the year to the end of December, it generated gross turnover of €69m.

The businesses of Aguirre and Savills in Spain will be integrated, with Savills existing Spanish business employing 70 people in offices in Madrid and Barcelona, and will initially operate in Spain under the Savills Aguirre Newman brand. The principals of Aguirre Newman, Santiago Aguirre and Stephen Newman, and the head of Savills Spain, Rafael Merry del Val, will be appointed to the board of the combined businesses.

Savills chief executive Jeremy Helsby said: "The acquisition of Aguirre Newman combined with our existing Spanish business provides us with a significant footprint in Spain, a market where we see exciting long term growth opportunities. It follows Savills strategy to develop multi-service offerings and expand our presence in key Continental European markets."

At 1235 BST, the shares were down 1.7% to 895p.