KNIGHT Frank and major New Zealand real estate services company Bayleys have completed their acquisition of McGrath Limited, which will return to private ownership after being listed on the ASX since 2015.
McGrath’s new board of directors will comprise McGrath founder and CEO John McGrath, Knight Frank Australia CEO James Patterson, Knight Frank global head of residential Rupert Dawes, Bayleys managing director Mike Bayley and Bayleys finance director Ken MacRae.
John McGrath will continue on at McGrath as chief executive and managing director and will retain his 23.3% shareholding in the company.
“We are delighted to be joining forces with two of the greatest real estate brands in the world. Knight Frank is the most prestigious residential agency globally and provides us and our customers with instant access to the best global network and the most sophisticated international buyers in the world,” John McGrath said.
“Direct access to international buyers, especially high net worth residential buyers, is fast becoming a must-have if you want to compete in the premium end of the market,” he said.
“And over 50,000 Australians and Kiwis swap addresses across the ditch each year and they all need access to great property so one shouldn’t underestimate the value of having NZ’s leading real estate company, Bayleys, as our partner.”
Knight Frank and Bayleys have had a strategic relationship since 2018.
The partnership elevates Australia and New Zealand to one of the largest regions within Knight Frank’s global network, with the number of offices in its Australian network now surpassing its United Kingdom business. Together, Knight Frank and McGrath have 171 offices across Australia, while Knight Frank, Bayleys and McGrath combined have a footprint of 276 offices across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Knight Frank is the largest privately owned real estate agency in the world, with more than 740 offices globally, in over 50 markets, with more than 25,000 people. This includes strategic relationships with Douglas Elliman, Berkadia and Cresa in the United States, SMTB in Japan, as well as Bayleys in New Zealand.
Knight Frank CEO James Patterson said the deal will “allow Knight Frank Australia to continue to focus on its core business of commercial property whilst gaining exposure to the strong domestic residential market through an established brand offering attractive growth potential”.
“We see huge benefits in working in partnership, taking advantage of the networks and expertise of all three real estate brands to grow together, maximising our combined status as one of the top real estate networks in the nation in terms of size. We are hugely excited to partner with John McGrath and his team to fully realise these future growth prospects.
The Knight Frank, Bayleys and McGrath teams will continue to operate on a “business as usual” basis.
Bayleys started 50 years ago in the basement of the family home in an average suburb of Auckland. Today, the business spans 105 offices throughout New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, employing over 2,300 personnel, completing 14,000 transactions and settling in excess of $15 billion in property annually.
In New Zealand, Bayleys commands 48% of the commercial market nationally, 38% of the farm sales market and 16% of the national residential market, which increases to 34% market share in the $3 million-plus bracket.
Bayleys Managing Director Mike Bayley said Bayleys was hugely excited about the opportunity to support the growth and diversity of McGrath.
“Bayleys views the partnership with McGrath and Knight Frank as a collaboration of leading real estate companies servicing markets on both sides of the Tasman whilst providing unprecedented global reach. The ability to share ideas and innovation as well as systems and information will add considerable value to our customers and agents across Australasia.”
