Colliers upgraded its financial outlook as the global real estate services firm’s recent acquisitions of engineering firms and other businesses fueled a jump in revenue.
The Toronto-based firm posted $1.35 billion in revenue — up 18% year over year — in second-quarter results that included gains across all the company’s businesses.
The firm's fast-expanding engineering and design division that provides such services as architecture, consulting, project management and civil engineering to public agencies and business clients generated revenue of $436 million, a 67% jump over the prior-year quarter.
The "exceptional performance” of the firm’s growing engineering division highlighted the firm's strong financial performance, CEO Jay Hennick told analysts during the company’s earnings call Thursday.
“Our long-term strategy to build a diversified professional services and investment management business, with high-quality recurring revenue streams, is clearly paying off,” Hennick said.
Colliers is Canada’s largest real estate services firm and the world’s fourth-largest by revenue, behind CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield. In recent years, the brokerages have expanded businesses that provide consistent revenue separate from core brokerage functions such as advising on property sales and leases.
Colliers joined CBRE and Newmark this week in posting double-digit revenue gains and higher revenue expectations for the full year.
The company now expects revenue growth in the low-teens-percentage range, up from prior guidance of high-single-digit to low teens growth, from the company's $4.82 billion in total revenue in 2024.
M&A activity
The brighter outlook, which is contingent on an easing of global uncertainty about trade and interest rates in the second half of the year, reflects the expected revenue contribution of companies recently acquired by Colliers.
Chicago-based Harrison Street, the newly rebranded investment management division of Colliers, this week announced the acquisition of a 60% stake in RoundShield Partners, a European credit investment manager with $5.4 billion in assets under management.
The company also acquired four smaller engineering firms and two real estate services businesses during the quarter.
Colliers also agreed to acquire a majority stake in Astris Finance, a global investment banking firm that specializes in funding infrastructure projects for companies transitioning to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Colliers, flush with “about $8 billion of capital to put to work,” expects to complete several more acquisitions this year, Hennick said.
“Our M&A pipeline remains robust,” he added.
JLL, the world’s second-largest real estate services firm by revenue, and Cushman & Wakefield, the third-largest, as well as Marcus & Millichap, are slated to report results next week.