Fiera Capital Corp. has reached an agreement for the acquisition of an 80 percent interest in Palmer Capital Partners, a U.K.-based real estate investment manager.
“Palmer Capital is a perfect fit for us as we look to further grow our footprint outside of North America,” said Vincent Duhamel, global president and COO, Fiera Capital. “This is a strategic acquisition with a growing business in Europe and the United Kingdom - key areas of focus for us as we expand globally. We have grown significantly over the last decade by acquiring stakes in best in class boutique firms, underpinning them with operational and strategic support and leaving their talented investment professionals to focus their time and skill on delivering strong positive investment performance.”
The acquisition will be made through Fiera Capital’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fiera Properties, its dedicated real estate investment management company, which provides direct real estate investment opportunities to institutional investors, foundation and endowment clients, and high-net-worth individuals.
“This transaction, which sees Fiera Capital taking a long-term view of the U.K. real estate market, is very much in line with our strategy of expanding our current service offering in alternative strategies and provides an excellent platform for both Fiera Properties and Palmer Capital to expand their domestic businesses and become part of a coordinated and growing global business. The combined business significantly expands the range of offerings to our existing client bases,” said John Valentini, president and CEO, Fiera Private Alternative Investments.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement for the acquisition, the 80 percent interest to be acquired by Fiera Capital has an equity value of £40 million ($50 million) and an enterprise value of £30 million ($38 million), subject to post-closing price adjustments.
Palmer Capital, founded in 1992, has more than £800 million ($1 billion) in assets under management with an additional £215.5 million ($273 million) managed through the joint ventures of eight regional property companies in which it is a minority shareholder as of Sep. 30.
Palmer Capital will remain independently managed but will become the U.K. arm of Fiera Properties, part of Fiera Capital’s alternative asset offerings. Ray Palmer, the founder of Palmer Capital, will remain the executive chairman and Alex Price, CEO, will continue to run the day-to-day strategy and operations of the business.
This acquisition marks Fiera Capital’s first acquisition of a real estate investment management business outside of Canada and its second acquisition in the United Kingdom market following its acquisition of boutique fund manager Charlemagne Capital in 2017. Expanding globally, in March 2018 Fiera Capital increased its presence in Asia with the acquisition of Clearwater Capital Partners.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
