CBRE Acquires Facilities Maintenance Data Company for Commercial Real Estate
The Brief:
- CBRE pays $290M for FacilitySource’s proprietary SaaS technology platform, a staff of approximately 550 professionals, 25,000+ qualified service providers, the FS Elite vendor development program and a dedicated 24/7 operations support center.
- The tech giant supports 120k client locations around the United States, offering procurement and facilities management solutions.
- The company is the largest repository of data on facilities data, enabling owners and operators to benchmark service provider performance, predict maintenance costs, and lower expenses.
Commercial real estate firms are investing heavily in technology startups and established companies that help manage data. The acquisition of FacilitySource comes after the company established itself as the go-to data solution for the facilities management industry and built advanced analytics capabilities that tap into performance data gathered since its founding in 2005.
With CBRE, FacilitySource will be able to spread across the firm's huge portfolio of 450 offices.
"We built FacilitySource to unlock the power of data and change the facilities management industry. Combining with CBRE enhances our ability to grow quickly, serve large, complex client portfolios, and invest in our leading model. Together, we can accomplish much more than either company could on its own,” stated Bill Hayden, the CEO of FacilitySource.
FacilitySource sees most of its customers coming from the retail sector of the commercial real estate world, but it has shifted to a more diversified strategy as retail chains both large and small begin to shut down locations. Now, the company is shifting to areas like logistics, healthcare, grocery, and nursing homes.
The Business Model
CBRE acquired the company from private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Under the guidance of Warburg Pincus, the FacilitySource changed its model from being primarily a software business to becoming a service manager, helping clients manage service providers like plumbers, electricians, tradespeople, and others. This leads to better consistency across large real estate portfolios, along with better data for FacilitySource.
The company is also one of a growing number of startups based in the Midwest, an area of the country that's becoming increasingly attractive for technology. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.
Read the full press release on CBRE's website.
