Savills has agreed a deal worth almost $1 billion to acquire US real estate investment bank Eastdil Secured. This represents a significant strategic move aimed at strengthening the British real estate group’s presence in the lucrative American market.
The London-listed real estate adviser will pay around $921 million for the company in a deal that combines both cash and shares. Around $553 million will be paid in cash, while around $369 million will be settled in Savills shares, which will be issued to existing Eastdil investors, including Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, Guggenheim Partners and a group of senior shareholders.
The takeover represents the first major deal under Savills’ new chief executive Simon Shaw, who takes over from Mark Ridley in early 2026. Shaw described the merger as “a marriage made in heaven” and highlighted the long-standing relationship between the two companies in global real estate transactions.
Eastdil Secured is widely regarded as one of the most influential advisors in the global real estate capital markets sector. The company specializes in advising large landlords, developers and institutional investors on high-value property sales, financing arrangements and complex investment transactions. Its client base includes some of the largest global real estate investors and private equity firms.
With the addition of Eastdil to the group, Savills aims to significantly strengthen its presence in the United States, the world’s largest real estate investment market, where the company has historically had a smaller presence compared to Europe and Asia.
Shaw said the acquisition fills a strategic gap in Savills’ global platform. While the company has strong market positions in many international real estate markets, the United States remained the key region where its capabilities were comparatively underdeveloped.
He said: “We have large market shares in many parts of the world, but the only gap in our network is the US. Eastdil is the leading capital markets operator in the largest real estate investment market in the world, providing direct access to the deepest capital pools.”
Savills believes the combined organization will enable the firm to compete more aggressively for high-value real estate advisory mandates, including real estate portfolio mergers and acquisitions, large-scale financing deals and global investment transactions.
The acquisition was announced alongside Savills’ latest financial results, which showed the company continues to grow despite a challenging global economic environment characterized by geopolitical tensions, tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty.
For the year ending December 2025, Savills reported sales of £2.55 billion, up from £2.40 billion a year earlier, representing growth of 6 per cent.
Pre-tax profit rose 14 percent to 101 million pounds, compared to 88.3 million pounds in 2024. The company attributed the increase in part to stronger demand for its non-transactional services, including investment management, consulting and property management.
These businesses now account for the majority of Savills’ revenue, reflecting a broader industry shift away from pure reliance on property transactions towards advisory and wealth management services, which offer more stable revenue streams.
Revenue from these less transactional activities increased 8 percent for the year, while revenue directly related to real estate transactions increased 4 percent.
Savills said the middle of 2025 was particularly challenging for deal activity as investors delayed decisions due to global tariff disputes and uncertainty over fiscal policy in the run-up to the UK government’s autumn budget.
However, towards the end of the year, the company experienced a significant upturn in its activities. Shaw described December as “amazing” and suggested that many investors returned to the market once political uncertainty had subsided and the budget was delivered.
He said investors were increasingly adapting to a world marked by geopolitical tensions and economic volatility.
“Both occupiers and investors have begun to accept that geopolitical change is now a constant,” Shaw said. “There comes a moment when, despite this background, you just have to keep investing and doing business.”
Savills also reported that the stronger momentum seen at the end of 2025 has continued into the early months of 2026. While the company acknowledged that it remained difficult to assess the full impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, it said there had been little immediate disruption to global real estate investment activity.
According to Shaw, London could potentially benefit from increased investor interest if global instability continues, as capital has historically flowed into markets that are considered stable and safe.
“I think there is a likelihood that capital will tilt slightly towards traditional safe havens,” he said. “It would be logical for investors to feel more comfortable putting their money in markets where legal systems and institutions are well established.”
Savills’ board has also agreed to a higher payout to shareholders due to improved financial performance. The company increased its final dividend by 8 percent to 15.7 pence per share, payable in May, while also announcing an additional dividend of 10.7 pence per share.
Despite the strategic reasons for the takeover of Eastdil, investors initially reacted cautiously to the announcement. Savills shares fell 7.2 per cent to close 72p down at 930p on the day the deal was announced.
Founded in 1855 by surveyor Alfred Savill, the company has grown from a traditional land agency for wealthy landowners into one of the world’s largest property advisory groups.
Although Savills is widely recognized by the public as a residential property agent, its residential property business only accounts for around a tenth of Savills’ total business. The majority of revenue now comes from commercial real estate services such as advising investors, leasing office space, managing buildings and advising institutional clients.
Savills has expanded internationally through a series of acquisitions over the last three decades, establishing offices in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. However, the United States remained the last major real estate market where its presence lagged behind its competitors.
The purchase of Eastdil Secured is therefore expected to play a central role in Savills’ long-term strategy to build a truly global real estate advisory platform that can compete with the industry’s largest real estate advisory firms and investment banks.
