JLL acquires Northwest Atlantic, gains bigger foothold in Canada

JLL acquired Toronto-based Northwest Atlantic in a bid to grab a bigger share of the the retail brokerage business in Canada.

Chicago-based JLL did not disclose the purchase price, according to Bloomberg. It said 45 Northwest Atlantic employees across Canada will join JLL Canada, and the deal will not result in any job cuts.

Northwest Atlantic represents more than 65 retailers including Nordstrom, Winners and movie-theater operator Cineplex. It has brokered more than 75 million square feet of leases across Canada.

JLL is the largest third-party retail-property manager in the United States by total square feet of assets under management, according to Bloomberg. It was looking for an increased presence in Canada because of the stability of the retail market there, said Naveen Jaggi, president of retail advisory services for JLL Americas.

“It experienced less than a year of declining fundamentals post-recession, which kept it safe and stable for retailers and investors,” Jaggi told Bloomberg. “The market’s retail sales are forecast to grow 2.4 percent this year and will see continued, albeit smaller, increases through 2022.”

He said revenue from JLL Americas’ retail business has tripled over the past four years. Brett Miller, chief executive officer of JLL Canada, said the goal is to double the firm’s Canadian business within three years of the Northwest Atlantic merger.

JLL last month said it hopes to raise up to $3 billion for one of its real estate investment trusts. And the firm also recently launched JLL Spark, a $100 million global venture fund aimed at cultivating real estate technology startups and connecting them to developers. [Bloomberg] — John O’Brien