JLL acquisition bolsters global derivatives advisory capabilities

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Apr 18, 2023, 09:00 ET

JLL acquires leading derivatives advisory specialist Kensington Capital Advisors and Frame Financial Systems' software solutions platform

CHICAGO, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JLL (NYSE: JLL) today announced it has wholly acquired Kensington Capital Advisors (KCA), a North Carolina-based derivatives and structured finance advisory firm. The acquisition includes Frame Financial Systems (Frame), a technology platform that will enable JLL to offer CRE investor clients a proprietary "software with a service" ("SwaS") debt portfolio reporting and analytics solution.

"The acquisition of KCA and Frame expands the global derivatives advisory capabilities and end-to-end capital solutions we offer to our clients," said Richard Bloxam, CEO of Capital Markets, JLL. "Combining KCA's strategic advisory capabilities and Frame technology with our market-leading experts in Debt Advisory across the world and our global platform is going to create real value for our clients."

Since 2004, KCA has served as an independent financial advisory firm specializing in the analysis, structuring and execution of derivative products and structured financing solutions. Americas Capital Markets CEO, Mark Gibson, said, "When JLL acquired HFF in July 2019, it also acquired HFF's 50% ownership of Kensington Capital Advisors. After three successful years of working closely with the Kensington team, the Kensington and JLL teams believe the consolidation of Kensington into the JLL Platform will greatly enhance both the services we can provide to our clients in a volatile "cost of capital" climate and the profitability of the JLL enterprise."

KCA and Frame's 23 employees will join the Capital Markets and JLL Technologies teams, and the technology product will be offered as a SwaS solution for investor clients looking to manage their corporate real estate debt portfolios more effectively.

"The Frame platform is a strong addition to JLL's best-of-breed tech portfolio for CRE investors," said Amit Koren, chief product officer for JLL Technologies. "Debt portfolio management is a critical need for our clients and one that is most effectively addressed by the integration of expert advisory services and purpose-built software. This approach is what differentiates JLL and we see tremendous opportunity to accelerate the growth and impact of Frame."

"Joining forces with JLL helps us realise our vision to expand the reach of our world-class SwaS product to real estate investors," said Jim Moore, Principal and founder of Kensington Capital Advisors. "The services we offer clients to identify, quantify and mitigate risk are already in strong demand during this volatile interest rate environment. With the global reach of JLL, we will be able to better serve our clients and broaden our real estate hedging and derivatives advisory services."

About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $20.9 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 103,000 as of December 31, 2022. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit ir.jll.com.

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About Kensington Capital Advisors
Unique among derivative advisory firms, Kensington Capital Advisors is an independent financial advisory firm specializing in the analysis, structuring, and execution of derivative products and structured financing solutions. Kensington's professionals command over 160 years total experience, including over 80 years of combined prior experience on major derivatives trading platforms.

About Frame
Frame provides technology solutions to enhance our clients' capital markets and real estate finance activities. Frame Financial System supports comprehensive derivatives and fixed income valuation and portfolio management workflows. Frame Debt Management is a sophisticated debt platform focused on managing the detailed information and ongoing workflow related to projects, financing documents, hedging agreements and reporting requirements.

Contact: Gayle Kantro
Phone: +1 312 228 2795
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE JLL-IR