2021 Deals in Commercial Real Estate

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20 December 2021

Despite the obvious challenges and interruptions, 2021 was a busy year for deals, acquisitions and mergers in the commercial property sector.

Office Space Deals

According to EG Radius, 1.7m sq ft of office space was let in January 2021, rising to 1.9m sq ft in May and peaking at 3.8m sq ft in September.

One major office letting deal was when British Land celebrated the completion of 1 Triton Square at Regents Place this year, with 312,000 sq ft let to tech giant Facebook.

By retaining and reusing the original building for today’s working styles, three extra floors were added, doubling the lettable area of the offices without increasing the amount of plant space. This amounted to substantial construction cost savings and faster development process compared to a like-for-like new build. For instance, the circular façade cost 66 per cent less than a new equivalent. 

Another high profile letting was that of 22 Bishopsgate, Europe’s first vertical village. 65,000 sq ft is leased to international law firm, Skadden, with Fidelis taking the 25,000 sq ft 42nd floor.  The Korea Development Bank (KDB) also rents close to 13,000 sq ft of space.

CBRE and Turner & Townsend

Moving to acquisitions and mergers, after announcing the agreement in July 2021, November saw the completion of CBRE’s acquisition of Turner & Townsend. CBRE acquired a 60 per cent ownership interest in the advisory firm.

The 60 per cent stake is worth approximately £960 million ($1.3 billion) in cash, with 55 per cent paid upon closing. The transaction values Turner & Townsend at approximately £1.6 billion ($2.2 billion).

Bouygues Group and Equans

Bouygues and Engie announced their purchase agreement for Bouygues to acquire all of the Equans group, Engie's facilities management and technical services arm.

The merger makes Equans the largest business segment within the Bouygues group by sales (around €16 billion) and number of employees (around 96,000).

Final completion of the deal is expected by the second half of 2022.

Bidvest Noonan and Cordant Services

The merger of Bidvest Noonan and Cordant Services this year has created a business with combined annual revenues beyond £700 million.

The deal also brings 7,000 new colleagues to the Bidvest Noonan team

Bidvest Noonan also acquired Axis Group, a leading UK provider of security, cleaning and front of house services, in January 2021.

Picture: a photograph of a group of people speaking in the hallway of a building. Five people can be seen.

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 20 December 2021

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