The London-based advisory firm adds one of America’s most storied real estate investment banks to its platform, giving Guggenheim and Temasek a nearly 3x return on their 2019 investment.
London-listed real estate advisory firm Savills has agreed to acquire Eastdil Secured Holdings, the New York-based real estate investment bank, for an enterprise value of $1.1 billion (£827 million). The deal, announced March 12, 2026, alongside Savills’ full-year 2025 earnings, represents one of the most significant consolidations in commercial real estate services in recent memory and positions the combined entity as what both firms described as a global capital markets powerhouse.
The transaction is structured as a combination of approximately $552.75 million in cash and $368.5 million in newly issued Savills shares. In addition, 85 senior Eastdil employees will receive roughly 6.3 percent of Savills’ enlarged share capital — valued at approximately $130 million — subject to long-term lock-up provisions designed to ensure retention. Eastdil’s shareholders will own approximately 16 percent of the enlarged group upon completion, according to Bloomberg, which reported on the deal March 12.
The acquisition comes at a valuation of roughly 9.9 times Eastdil’s 2025 underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $113 million, according to Crain’s New York Business. Eastdil generated $633 million of revenue in 2025, with 76 percent of that business originating in North America and the remaining 24 percent in EMEA.
Savills Group CEO Simon Shaw, who succeeded Mark Ridley at the start of 2026, framed the acquisition during the firm’s earnings call as the fulfillment of a long-held strategic ambition. Shaw told investors the deal delivers what many inside the organization had been pursuing for years — a preeminent capital markets business in the United States, the world’s deepest and most active real estate capital pool. Shaw characterized the transaction as immediately earnings-accretive, projecting that by 2027 it would enhance the firm’s bottom line across all financial measures, pre-synergies.
For Savills, the logic is straightforward. The firm has historically been a dominant force in EMEA and Asia-Pacific markets through its advisory, property management and consultancy businesses, but it has lacked the investment sales muscle to compete at the highest levels in North America. Its small New York-based capital markets team grew revenues 58 percent in 2025, according to Savills’ earnings call, yet remained a minor contributor to group profitability. Eastdil, by contrast, is renowned for handling complex, multi-billion-dollar transactions across the office, hospitality, and life sciences sectors. Since 2011, Eastdil has advised on more than 9,800 real estate transactions representing approximately $3 trillion in total value, according to MarketScreener.
Once the deal closes — pending regulatory approvals — Savills expects to become the number-two brokerage globally for prime commercial real estate transactions exceeding $100 million, and the number-one advisor in the United States for that high-value bracket.
Despite the acquisition, Eastdil will maintain significant operational autonomy. The firm will retain its brand identity, operating as Eastdil Secured Savills and functioning as the group’s dedicated Real Estate Investment Banking arm. Savills has indicated it will not change Eastdil’s compensation structure or pursue redundancies, according to Crain’s New York Business, and is instead targeting revenue synergies of at least £60 million.
The leadership transition reflects this continuity. Roy March, who has served as Eastdil’s CEO since the 1990s and is one of the most recognized figures in real estate investment banking, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman. Michael Van Konynenburg, the firm’s longtime president, will be elevated to CEO. James McCaffrey will serve as President and will be based in London. Both Van Konynenburg and McCaffrey will join the Savills Group Executive Board.
The deal also marks a highly profitable exit for Eastdil’s current owners. Guggenheim Investments and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings took Eastdil private in 2019 in a management-led recapitalization valued at approximately $400 million, after Wells Fargo decided to divest its majority stake. Wells Fargo retained a minority interest at the time. According to Commercial Observer, Savills will acquire 100 percent of the equity in Eastdil, buying out the interests of Guggenheim, Temasek, and Wells Fargo’s remaining minority position. The transaction represents a return of nearly three times the 2019 investment in roughly seven years.
Eastdil’s corporate lineage stretches back to 1967, when Benjamin V. Lambert founded the firm as Eastdil Realty with a vision of bringing an institutional investment banking approach to real estate. The firm gained prominence brokering landmark transactions, including the financing of the Embarcadero Center in the 1970s and the sale of the Helmsley portfolio in the 1990s, according to Eastdil’s corporate history. In 2006, Wells Fargo merged Eastdil with Secured Capital Corp. to form the modern entity.
The transaction arrives at an inflected moment for global real estate capital markets. Savills reported an 11 percent increase in pre-tax profit to £145.3 million for 2025 and a 6 percent rise in group revenue year-over-year, according to the earnings announcement. Shaw noted that Savills’ transactional business delivered its strongest fourth quarter since 2019, and that the firm anticipates progressive growth in investment activity across its key markets in 2026.
With approximately 76 percent of Eastdil’s business centered on North American markets, the combined firm will also absorb high-performing teams in key markets such as New York. Eastdil could further expand its service lines into Asia-Pacific markets. Savills currently manages 2.67 billion square feet of property globally and operates across more than 70 countries.
The deal is expected to close following regulatory review and is anticipated to deliver low-to-mid teens accretion in underlying earnings per share by 2027, before synergies.
