Avison Young has closed its recapitalization after receiving capital from almost 20 investors, which will enable the Toronto-headquartered global real estate advisory firm to move forward with its “Avison Young 2031” growth plan.

The recapitalization follows a separate process in 2024 that saw the company restructure its balance sheet and deleverage its financing as it faced a credit rating downgrade.

“The capital is coming from the same financial stakeholders that originally started out as our lender group,” Avison Young chair and CEO Mark Rose told RENX.

“They're folks who have seen the future of this business and knew that the company is much better as a growth company with little debt. It was a two-step, three-year process to take what we had and who we had and who we work with and turn them into shareholders rather than debt holders.”

Rose said the recapitalization would reduce Avison Young’s debt from the $600 million range down to $110 million and that the company’s liquidity is “very good.”

The 'Avison Young 2031' growth plan

Avison Young was founded in 1978 and has grown from a company that strictly focused on Canada to having more than 100 offices in 18 countries that employ more than 4,000 real estate professionals.

The company works with real estate occupiers, investors and the public sector across all aspects of commercial real estate, including office, industrial, retail, multi-residential, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, land, development and a range of specialty practices.

“Avison Young 2031” is centred on attracting and developing talent, enhancing client capabilities, investing in technology and expanding the firm’s presence and expertise across key markets and sectors around the world.

The firm is identifying opportunities for both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions in markets, sectors and artificial intelligence-based technology to help it deliver greater value for clients.

“All of this growth for us is to add to our core focus on our core markets, but to also look at all strategies associated with client solutions that pull together geographies, products, services, consultative strategies and technology,” Rose explained.

“That means we're going to be investing in slightly different people and buying slightly different companies, even though a lot of real estate is local and still traditional, almost commodity-like.”

Retrofitting and data centres

Rose said Avison Young has always believed in the office sector, even when it went through a down cycle earlier this decade before it started showing signs of a turnaround. He’s interested in retrofitting class-B buildings to help them compete with class-A buildings in terms of such things as amenities and sustainability so they can attract tenants and higher rents.

Rose also sees a role for retrofitting when it comes to the multi-residential asset class in order to create needed affordable and workforce housing.

Avison Young remains bullish on data centres and has increased its staffing dedicated to them despite some pushback from the public against them and some markets becoming more cautious about hosting them.

“This has become a political football,” said Rose. “That's all it is. The train left the station.

“Data centres host the hyperscalers and others. We’re moving ahead with artificial intelligence. You don't have to like it, but we all use it.”

Commercial real estate is recovering

Rose believes the Canadian commercial real estate market began its recovery in the second half of last year and, even though statements made by politicians here and in the United States can prompt certain activities to be paused, they haven’t undermined the positive fundamentals of the market.

“The geopolitical issues, the war, inflation, energy prices and the jawboning between countries probably elongated the recovery a bit, but it’s started, it’s intact and we’re up considerably,” Rose said of Avison Young’s 2026 financial and operational performance.

“Our capital markets business, year over year, is up about 40 per cent. Things are trading again, people are moving again and we're leasing again, but that doesn't mean that tomorrow you won't hear a comment and a client takes a step back for a moment.”