Avison Young acquires Calgary-based appraisal firm Linnell Taylor Lipman and Associates Ltd.

Purchase expands Avison Young's property valuation services throughout Canada;
Terry Taylor, Robert Lipman, Patrick James become Principals; 14 members join

TORONTO, April 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today that it has acquired Calgary-based property appraisal company Linnell Taylor Lipman and Associates Ltd.

The purchase further expands Avison Young's valuation and advisory service business-line coverage across the Calgary market, Alberta and the rest of Canada. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Established in 1987, Linnell Taylor Lipman & Associates Ltd. (LTL) is a professional real estate appraisal and consulting corporation. For nearly 30 years, the firm has undertaken appraisal and consulting assignments throughout Western Canada on behalf of private, publically traded  and institutional owners and investors; real estate developers, realtors, insurance companies, various levels of government, the legal community and lending institutions. LTL has completed appraisals on a wide range of property types, including office, retail, industrial, multi-family residential, land, hotels, self-storage facilities, and special purpose properties such as car washes, gas stations and auto dealerships.

The firm offers a wide range of services including real estate valuations and consulting services such as feasibility and highest and best use studies, and market surveys. Detailed cash flow forecasts, including discounted cash flow and sensitivity analysis, are provided on income-producing assets. Arbitration, expert witness testimony and legal support services are also provided.

Effective immediately, LTL is rebranded as Avison Young. The change in ownership adds 14 employees to Avison Young's operations. Terry Taylor, Robert Lipman and Patrick James become Principals of Avison Young. Taylor also becomes Director, Valuation and Appraisal Services in Calgary. He will lead the Calgary valuation and advisory team and be responsible for expanding Avison Young's property appraisal service offerings in all business classes throughout Calgary and Alberta while assisting with the strategic expansion of Avison Young's valuation service line across Canada.

"We are pleased to have the LTL team on board," comments Rose. "This expansion of our existing property appraisal service-line offering, with a well-established player in the Calgary marketplace, will increase our capability to provide valuation and advisory services to our clients on a local and national basis – something that our clients continue to ask for. We will also be able to provide our clients with more insight and flexibility when it comes to valuing, buying, selling and managing their properties."

Rose continues: "Terry, Robert and Patrick are highly respected and recognized experts in their field. Terry has assembled a team of trusted professionals, who will mesh comfortably with Avison Young's collaborative, client-focused culture."

Also joining from LTL are: Aaron Nelson, Suzanne Clarke, Abhishek Paul, Ehren Schroeder, Max Findlay, Dave Durant, Kira Penner, Kimberly Parker, Brett Dombrova, Liam Fast and Marcia Lawrence-Francis.

"Linnell Taylor Lipman is very similar to Avison Young in that LTL has leading producers, a reputation for excellence, and three decades of experience serving high-quality clients," states Hiren Thakar, Avison Young Principal and Senior Vice-President of Corporate Strategy. "The LTL team has gained a broad range of experience appraising assets across Canada and in all asset classes. In addition, this acquisition furthers our goal of offering appraisal and valuation services in all Avison Young markets as part of our aggressive growth strategy and ensuring that we offer a full range of services and holistic solutions to all clients."

Today's acquisition in Western Canada complements Avison Young's acquisition of property appraisal company Metrix Realty Group (Ontario) Inc. in Eastern Canada on January 4, 2016, in which 30 members joined Avison Young.

"Linnell Taylor Lipman has one of the best reputations in Alberta for providing professional, qualified opinions of value," says Todd Throndson, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the firm's Calgary office. "The team is diverse with excellent credentials, and the fit was right. We have been in contact with LTL for more than six years; and with LTL's evolution as a company and our evolution, the respective management teams felt now was a great time to combine our resources."

"From our Calgary office's perspective, this is a business line that meets our objective to become a full-service shop. We now have the opportunity to offer seamless transitioning in the real estate space by offering brokerage, debt financing, appraisal, tax appeal and property management services – all under one roof. And, from LTL's perspective, this gives them an opportunity to truly have a national reach," says Throndson. Avison Young also acquired Calgary-based property management firm Peregrin Inc. in February 2015 with 12 members joining.

As a result of today's acquisition, Avison Young will be able to provide more specific value estimates with respect to property valuations for mortgage lending and financing purposes, buying and selling real estate, expropriation, estate planning, divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure, general litigation and potential future developments.

Adds Mark Fieder, Avison Young Principal and Chief Operating Officer, Canada: "We are thrilled that LTL chose Avison Young over other potential partners during this era of widespread consolidation in the real estate services sector. And, we look forward to collaborating with our new Calgary appraisal experts as we provide clients with additional multi-market valuation services and cross-border transactions."

"Speaking on behalf of Robert, Pat and our team, we are excited by the opportunity to bring our appraisal expertise, industry experience, knowledge and commitment to Avison Young," says Taylor. "Over the years, we have worked hard to assemble a team of valuation professionals who put our clients' needs first, and our business philosophy is in line with Avison Young's well-developed, Principal-led approach. Recognizing the need to align our operations with a full-service brokerage company, we sought both a strong brand and a collaborative culture that appreciates the importance of appraisal and valuation in virtually all commercial real estate transactions. After sitting across the table from Avison Young on various projects, we knew that we had found the right partner."

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening a new office in Phoenix, Arizona yesterday (April 4, 2016) as a result of the firm's acquisition of Phoenix-based The GPE Companies.

Over the past seven years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 77 offices and from 300 to more than 2,200 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

 Biographies

Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor brings to Avison Young 38 years of commercial real estate appraisal and consulting experience, with extensive expertise in various Alberta markets as well as in British Columbia. He was most recently a Principal and partner at Linnell Taylor Lipman & Associates Ltd. (1987 to 2016) and, prior to that, worked with other appraisal firms in Calgary for 10 years. Property types appraised by Taylor during his career include warehouse and industrial buildings, automobile dealerships, restaurants; strip, neighbourhood and regional shopping centres; office buildings, condominiums, rental apartment and townhouse projects, vacant subdivision land and serviced land. Assignment types include appraising and consulting for mortgage financing and general information purposes, court presentation and arbitration involving real estate matters, expropriation, feasibility and market studies, estate planning, bankruptcy, foreclosure and general consulting as well as due diligence regarding acquisitions of large investment properties.

Taylor holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in urban land economics from the University Of British Columbia and received his AACI, P. App designation from the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) in 1984. He is licensed with the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA).

Robert Lipman
Robert Lipman has more than 25 years of commercial real estate appraisal and consulting experience in Alberta, including out-of-province assignments in British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan. He joins Avison Young from Linnell Taylor Lipman & Associates Ltd. where he was a Principal and partner (1990-2016). Lipman has extensive expertise in Calgary's downtown office market and the appraisal of large investment-grade assets. Assignment types include appraising for financing, general information, financial reporting purposes, legal support and general consulting. He has provided expert witness testimony in many arbitration hearings as well as before the Land Compensation Board (LCB), Assessment Review Board (ARB) and the Court of Queen's Bench.

Lipman holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph (1987). He completed the Appraisal Institute of Canada's education program and achieved his AACI, P. App. designation in 1996. He is licensed with the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) and is a member of the Alberta Expropriation Association (AEA).       

Patrick James 
Patrick James brings 23 years of appraisal and consulting experience to Avison Young, the last 13 of which have been in Calgary with Linnell Taylor Lipman & Associates Ltd. as a senior commercial appraiser. Assignments have been completed throughout Alberta and the Northwest Territories. James has experience in appraising a wide range of property types including single and multi-tenant industrial and retail, suburban office, community (schools), neighbourhood and power shopping centres. Other projects have included multi-residential developments, vacant development land, "going concern" properties, replacement costing, lease arbitration, market rental surveys and automotive dealerships.

James has provided valuation and consulting services to a broad array of clients including the Government of Canada, Province of Alberta, City of Calgary, pension funds, asset managers, public companies including REITs, institutional investors, real estate developers, financial institutions, private investors, lawyers and accountants. He received his Canadian Residential Appraiser (CRA) designation from the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) in 2006, and is licensed with the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA).

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,200 real estate professionals in 77 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties. 

Editors/Reporters
• Please click on links to view and download photos of Terry Taylor, Robert Lipman, Patrick James:
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/TerryTaylor.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/RobertLipman.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/PatrickJames.jpg

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959
• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028
• Todd Throndson, Principal and Managing Director, Calgary Avison Young, 403.232.4343
• Terry Taylor, Director, Valuation and Appraisal Services, Calgary, Avison Young: 403.228.4001 (Ext. 210)

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SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

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