DTZ

DTZ was a London-based commercial property company. Tracing its origins back to 1853, it merged with Cushman & Wakefield in 2015 and its brand was retired.

History

Debenham & Tewson was established in London in 1853. In 1913 it merged with Chinnock, Clarke & Chinnock to form Debenham, Tewson & Chinnocks. In 1987, Debenham, Tewson & Chinnocks was listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 1993, a joint venture was formed with Jean Thouard of France, and the Zadelhoff Group of Germany and the Netherlands, forming DTZ.[1]

Timothy Melville-Ross (previously chair of Nationwide Building Society and director-general of the Institute of Directors) was chairman of the board for a period around 2005.[2]

In December 2011, parent company DTZ Holdings was placed into administration and its business entities were sold to UGL in order to repay GB£77.5m of an outstanding GB£106m debt owed to Royal Bank of Scotland. The shareholders' equity was wiped out after a deal with majority shareholder Saint George Participations and BNP Paribas Real Estate fell through.[3][4][5] The company was reportedly worth almost GB£500m around 2006.[4] The company was in financial difficulty after a spending spree prior to a financial crisis, buying Rockwood in the US and retail agent Donaldsons.[4]

In November 2014, DTZ was sold to a consortium of TPG Capital, PAG and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.[6][7] On 1 September 2015 Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ merged, and the DTZ brand was retired.[8]

DTZ Investors continues as an entity of Cushman & Wakefield and operates as a full-service vertically integrated real estate manager.[9]