黑洞社区

Turner & Townsend began discussions about buying London cost consultant Alinea just weeks after its own deal with CBRE broke in summer 2021.

黑洞社区 understands Turner & Townsend (T&T) has paid between 拢25m and 拢35m for the 110-strong firm, bringing to an end nearly 10 years of independence after it was set up in May 2013 following the takeover of Davis Langdon by Aecom.

T&T鈥檚 UK managing director Patricia Moore declined to comment on the amount it paid for a business that is predicted to have a turnover of 拢20m in its latest financial year, which finishes at the end of April, and earnings of around 拢5m.

But she said initial discussions between the pair first kicked off in autumn 2021 鈥� just weeks after US real estate giant CBRE announced it was paying 拢960m for a 60% stake in T&T.

The negotiations, which were led for Alinea by co-founder Iain Parker and for T&T by Moore, its chairman and chief executive Vince Clancy and the UK boss of its cost management arm, Martin Sudweeks, began to accelerate last spring and summer before the deal was inked at the end of last month.

Moore said having the backing of CBRE had given T&T the 鈥渃onfidence鈥� to buy Alinea, which it had targeted in order to break into the investor developer market in the Square Mile.

>>See also: Why Alinea turned its back on independence and signed up with T&T

鈥淲e have a really strong strategic investor behind us that wants us to go faster, wants to back us,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never really been able to penetrate the City of London and we want to get into the City of London and that is what Alinea is going to help us to do.鈥� 

Under the deal, Parker becomes the head of an enlarged London cost management business called Turner & Townsend Alinea and which is now around 350 strong with a turnover upwards of 拢50m. Speaking about the deal, he added: 鈥淲e propel our business a decade overnight in terms of what we鈥檙e trying to do.鈥�

Alinea said its seven equity partners were staying with the business and had now become equity partners in T&T, bringing the total number there to more than 140.

Parker added an initial amount paid out by T&T will be shared between all of the firm鈥檚 staff, all of whom will keep their jobs.

Conversations about who gets what started this week and the criteria being discussed for payouts includes seniority, longevity and 鈥渃ontribution to the business鈥�. Parker added there was no golden handcuffs deal, requiring him and his colleagues to stay at T&T for a set period of time while the seven equity partners are understood to have kept a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� sum in T&T.

It is expected the firm will swap its current office at Cannon Street for T&T鈥檚 office at nearby One New Change next summer from where nearly 2,000 people are based.