Deloitte to go for growth as merger completed

The new company, to be called Drivers Jonas Deloitte, will create a specialist real estate advisory firm employing 700 staff.

Director from Drivers Jonas Deloitte in Leeds John Weir said that the 21-strong team in the city will more than double over the next three years to create a team of "more than 40".

Mr Weir said that the group is keen to expand throughout Yorkshire including Sheffield and South Yorkshire, Hull and the East Coast, Wakefield and Bradford.

The Leeds office will also be used as a springboard into the North-East, where the group is keen to expand.

Drivers Jonas has established a strong presence in the Yorkshire region and has advised major investors, landowners, developers, occupiers and the public sector.

Senior partner in the Leeds office of Deloitte Geoff Taylor said: "We see a big opportunity for Drivers Jonas Deloitte to add value to our clients.

"With the current difficult economic conditions, the combination of business and property expertise is more important than ever. In the long term, the merger will provide further opportunities for growth."

Mr Weir said: "We came to Leeds three years ago to replicate the success of the business in the North-West where we have a team of 80.

"Although the market has changed, the merger with Deloitte will provide added momentum to our growth – we plan to more than double the business over the next three years."

Drivers Jonas, Britain's oldest real estate consultancy firm, has established itself as one of the region's leading property advisors particularly to the public sector. Its clients include York, Selby and Scarborough councils, the Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust and One North East.

The team in Leeds has also advised Britain's second biggest supermarket Asda plus major developments in Leeds and Sheffield including Land Securities' Trinity Quarter and British Land's River Don Valley plan.

The group has also advised on a new development at Exchange Court in Bradford, where the existing Magistrates' Court is relocating.

In York, Drivers Jonas has advised the council on disposal options for the Barbican, a multi-use theatre/sports hall.

In Scarborough it has advised the council on the sale of the Dean Road depot and has given overall strategy advice on the council's property assets.

It has also advised the Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust on future options for surplus land at Pinderfields, Pontefract, Clayton and Dewsbury hospitals.

Mr Weir said the newly-merged group has already identified synergies in the Yorkshire and Humberside region. "There have been opportunities where Deloitte has been advising a client and a property issue has come up. Drivers Jonas has been able to provide the advice," he said. The two offices will physically merge on June 1. Drivers Jonas is Britain's eighth biggest commercial property adviser and has a history dating back 285 years.

The merged company will have more than 110m in annual revenues. The all-share deal will see Drivers Jonas's 25 equity partners become partners in Deloitte.

Deloitte's push into the multi-billion pound property advisory market aims to see it double the division's revenues within three years and become a bigger competitor to the likes of Jones Lang LaSalle and CB Richard Ellis.

Drivers Jonas Deloitte will complement Deloitte's existing team specialising in advising real estate firms, which makes around 200m-a-year in fees.

The group believes that impending Government spending cuts will see a rise in demand for public sector property consultancy.

Late spring start for 650m scheme

Drivers Jonas has worked closely with Leeds City Council, English Heritage and local civic groups on the planned Trinity Quarter scheme. Last month developers of the mothballed 650m centre said they had secured fashion chain Next as a new tenant.

Land Securities said Next will open a 51,000 sq ft store in the scheme, which covers an area around Briggate, Commercial Street, Albion Street and Boar Lane and will include more than 120 shops.

Work on the complex 1m sq ft development stalled last year as confidence among retailers slumped.

It is now due to open in October 2012 with Land Securities aiming to resume work in late spring.