Altus Group

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For the concrete company partnership, see AltusGroup.
Altus Group Limited
TypePublic
TSX: AIF
S&P/TSX Composite Component
IndustryReal Estate Services and Software
Founded2005
FounderGary Yeoman
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
Key people
Mike Gordon (Chief executive officer)[1]
RevenueC$567 million
Number of employees
2,200
Websitewww.altusgroup.com

Altus Group Limited provides software, data solutions[clarification needed] and independent advisory services to the global commercial real estate industry[2] through its two core business segments: Altus Analytics and CRE Consulting.[3][4] The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and employs approximately 2,200 employees with operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.[3] Altus Group is a public company, with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AIF, and Altus Group’s market capitalization is around $2 billion as of the end of 2020.[5][6] For fiscal 2019, the company had annual revenues of C$567 million and C$88.1 million in adjusted EBITDA.[7]

History[]

Altus Group went public in 2005, through the merger of three Canadian commercial real estate consultancies, one of which was led by its first CEO, Gary Yeoman.[8] Altus initially listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange as an income trust and subsequently converted into a corporation when the Canadian federal government implemented new taxes on trust distributions in 2011.[9][10] The company originally focused on consulting services for the commercial real estate industry but over the years has also repositioned itself as a technology company to help clients manage their commercial real estate portfolios.[11]

In 2006, Altus Group expanded into the land surveying industry in Western Canada which formed its Geomatics business segment. The Geomatics business was subsequently spun off in 2020 into the private company called GeoVerra that combined Altus Group’s Geomatics business with WSP’s geomatics operations.[12][13]

In its first five years, the company expanded through acquisitions.[14] These acquisitions primarily focused on the company’s property tax business. Altus Group’s property tax practice expanded into the UK market in 2007 with the acquisition of Edwin Hill.[15][16] Expansion in the UK continued, including through the acquisition of Commercial Valuers & Surveyors (CVS) in 2017.[2] Starting in 2010, the company also grew its property tax practice in the US, mainly through the acquisitions of Brazos Tax in 2010,[17] Complex Property Advisors in 2013[18] and SC&H Group’s State & Local Tax Practice in 2014.[19] The company also expanded its cost consulting practice to the Asia Pacific region through the acquisition of Page Kirkland in 2009.[20]

Altus Group’s shift to technology began with the acquisition of ARGUS Software in 2011.[21] The current Altus Analytics business segment includes software, data solutions[clarification needed], and advisory offerings, including PricewaterhouseCoopers’s valuation management practice that was acquired in 2010.[22] Acquiring ARGUS Software marked the first time that Altus Group entered the commercial real estate software industry.[13]

In 2011, Gary Yeoman stepped down as CEO and in 2012, Robert Courteau joined the company as the new CEO.[3] Courteau previously served as president of SAP North America, an enterprise application software company.[3] Under Courteau’s leadership, the company continued its expansion into software and data solutions[clarification needed] and revamped the software business, eventually launching a cloud-supported version of its ARGUS Enterprise product in 2019.[4] ARGUS Enterprise is used as an asset and investment management platform for the commercial real estate industry.

In September 2020, Courteau retired and was succeeded as CEO by Mike Gordon.[3][23] Gordon was most recently CEO of Callcredit Information Group, a U.K.-based information solutions[clarification needed] company focused on data, analytics and technology solutions[clarification needed], where he oversaw its transformation, growth and eventual sale to TransUnion in 2018.[3][23] Prior to joining Callcredit, he held senior leadership positions at FICO,[3] an analytics software company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[23]

Altus acquired American real estate data company Reonomy in November 2021.[24]

Business[]

The company has two business segments: Altus Analytics, Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Consulting.[11] Altus Analytics provides software and data solutions[clarification needed] for the commercial real estate industry.[11] The CRE Consulting segment focuses on property tax,[25] valuations advice and cost consulting.[26][27]

The Altus Analytics segment consists of global software products sold under the ARGUS brand, appraisal management data analytics solutions[clarification needed] and Canadian data subscription products.[28] Altus Analytics clients consist of CRE asset and investment management firms, including large owners, managers and investors of CRE assets and CRE funds, as well as other CRE industry participants including service providers, brokers, and developers. The solutions provide visibility at the asset, portfolio and fund level to help clients enhance performance of their CRE investments.[11]

The CRE Consulting segment consists of property tax,[25] valuation [11] and cost advisory services.[26][27] The company works with CRE market participants - including owner operators, developers, financial institutions, and various CRE asset holders and investors.[29] The property tax services are offered in Canada, the US and the UK.[25]

In 2019, Altus Group’s consolidated revenues were 39% from Canada, 37% from the US, 18% from Europe, and 6% from Asia Pacific.  In 2019, 38% of consolidated revenues came from the Property Tax business, 36% from Altus Analytics, 19% from Valuation and Cost Advisory and 7% from Geomatics.[30]

References[]

  1. ^ "Michael Gordon to succeed Robert Courteau at Altus". Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Altus Group acquires rates specialist CVS for..." PropertyEU News. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Michael Gordon to succeed Robert Courteau at Altus". RENX - Real Estate News Exchange. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  4. ^ a b "Altus Group is fully priced, National Bank Financial says". Cantech Letter. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  5. ^ "The 10 Best Performing TSX Tech Stocks of 2019". Cantech Letter. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  6. ^ "Altus Group Limited (AIF.TO) (AIF) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday". MarketBeat.com. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  7. ^ "Altus Group Annual Report 2019" (PDF).
  8. ^ "CEO of Altus Group gone amid debt worries". The Globe and Mail. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  9. ^ "Trust Conversion | ACB Tracking". www.acbtracking.ca. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  10. ^ "Converted income trusts stick to their high-yield ways". Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Canadian firm drags world's real estate players into the future". The Globe and Mail. 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  12. ^ "WSP and Altus Group spin off surveying and geomatics firm". Canadian Consulting Engineer. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  13. ^ a b "PlaceTech | Altus updates Argus cloud with AE 13". PlaceTech. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  14. ^ "Altus experiences expansion through recession". The Globe and Mail. 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  15. ^ "Altus Group to acquire British company". thestar.com. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  16. ^ "Altus Group Income Fund Acquires UK-based Edwin Hill". www.lexpert.ca. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  17. ^ "Altus experiences expansion through recession". Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  18. ^ "Altus Group Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2013 Financial Results". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  19. ^ "SC&H selling state and local tax practice to Canadian company for $38M".
  20. ^ "Altus expands into Australia, acquires Page Kirkland Group". Proactiveinvestors NA. 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  21. ^ Reuters Staff (2011-04-12). "Altus to buy Argus Software for $130 million". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  22. ^ "Altus acquires PwC's US real estate appraisal management practice | Property Funds World". www.propertyfundsworld.com. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  23. ^ a b c "Altus Group CEO to retire, successor appointed - constructconnect.com". Daily Commercial News. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  24. ^ Cavanaugh, Suzannah (12 November 2021). "Altus Acquires Real Estate Data Firm Reonomy for $200M". The Real Deal National. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  25. ^ a b c "Canada's Altus wants to save landlords around the world millions on property tax". Financial Post. 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  26. ^ a b "Three Toronto high-rise condo projects started by Cresford Developments in receivership". Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  27. ^ a b Group, WI staff,Altus. "What it costs to build real estate in Western Canada". Western Investor. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  28. ^ "Buy Altus Group Stocks and Shares ✔️". Forex Suggest. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  29. ^ "New technology the catalyst for CRE change: Altus CEO". RENX - Real Estate News Exchange. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  30. ^ "Profit from technology in the real estate industry". Dividend Earner. 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
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