Colliers is gearing up for growth, expanding its available debt by $500M as brokerage firms broadly predict 2025 will mark a pivot point for the sector.
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The Toronto-headquartered brokerage will expand its unsecured revolving credit facility, upping its borrowing capacity to $2.25B from $1.75B. The agreement’s maturity date has been extended 30 months to November 2029.
“The expanded and extended Credit Facility enhances our capacity and flexibility to support Colliers’ ongoing global growth, both organically and through acquisitions,” Christian Mayer, the firm’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.
Other key terms of the credit agreement remain unchanged, according to the brokerage, and the credit facility is on the same level in Colliers’ debt stack as its privately placed senior notes maturing in 2028 and 2031.
The transaction was led by Bank of Montreal and syndicated by 12 additional banks, including ubiquitous names in finance: JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Mizuho Bank, Bank of America, HSBC Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, Wells Fargo and Desjardins.
Colliers ended the third quarter with revenue up 12% year-over-year to $1.2B. Its capital markets business exceeded the company’s expectations with 17% revenue growth and its engineering department, which includes project management, saw revenue jump 21% driven by strategic acquisitions, including the purchase of the Canadian engineering firm Englobe.
The firm has a robust pipeline of potential acquisitions, CEO Jay Hennick said in a statement released with the third-quarter earnings, after the firm spent much of the year searching the market for opportunities.
“As we enter 2025, we anticipate additional upside from an improving capital markets environment, expanded investment strategies and capital raising opportunities in Investment Management and continued incremental growth through acquisitions,” Hennick said on Nov. 5.
Brokerages have benefited from what investors expect to be a positive 2025 for the commercial real estate industry. Their stocks have gained billions in value in recent months as the sales market shows signs of coming unstuck and office leasing approaches a postpandemic recovery, according to Colliers.
Last month, CBRE’s board authorized a $5B stock buyback, citing undervalued stock despite the brokerage’s shares climbing more than 40% this year.
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