Savills Expands U.S. Footprint with $1.1 Billion Acquisition of Eastdil Secured

Savills, the London-based real estate services giant, has agreed to acquire New York’s Eastdil Secured Holdings in a transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion, including debt. The deal marks a strategic move for Savills to deepen its presence in the competitive U.S. real estate market, where it aims to challenge established domestic players such as CBRE and JLL.

Eastdil Secured, headquartered in New York City, has built a strong reputation as a real estate investment bank, specializing in advising major global investors on complex property transactions, including sales, acquisitions, and financing. The firm’s niche emerged following the withdrawal of many Wall Street banks from real estate advisory services after the 2008 financial crisis, allowing Eastdil to carve out a unique dual role as both broker and financial advisor.

The acquisition will be funded through a combination of debt and new share issuance, with Eastdil’s existing shareholders set to hold around 16% ownership in the expanded Savills group. This deal follows Savills’ earlier purchase of U.S. leasing advisory firm Studley in 2014, which initially established its foothold in the American market.

Savills CEO Simon Shaw highlighted the strategic benefits of the acquisition, emphasizing the opportunity to enhance Savills’ debt advisory capabilities—a rapidly growing segment within real estate services. The expanded U.S. presence aligns with Savills’ broader ambitions to diversify its global business and capitalize on the robust activity in the American commercial property sector.

For New York’s real estate ecosystem, this development signifies increasing globalization and consolidation among advisory firms, with international players seeking to leverage local expertise to serve a broad range of institutional clients. Eastdil’s legacy of advising on landmark New York deals will complement Savills’ extensive global network, potentially reshaping competitive dynamics in the city’s brokerage landscape.