Frye is confident the FirstService platform will win the day because clients are screaming for change. “The real estate industry is the most archaic industry in the world. The industry doesn't want to admit this, but what our clients say about the industry is that we do not provide the type of service they want. We are loyal to a transaction and not to the client,” Frye explains.

“We are creating a true global platform that focuses on the client's needs, not the transaction. Building a better mousetrap is a lot of fun,” adds Frye.

Many analysts like what they see. “We continue to view FirstService as one of our more attractive long-term plays involved in commercial real estate,” says Brandon Dobell, an analyst with William Blair & Co. in Chicago. “While the deepening credit crisis and overall economic concerns create real challenges, we believe FirstService is in a solid position to grow the consolidated business over time given the current level of financial flexibility, and management's history of disciplined and strategic capital allocation.”

For the 12 months ending March 31, 2009, Dobell expects FirstService to earn (US) $1.77 billion and to post a gross profit of nearly $700 million. The stock closed at $13.75 per share on Dec. 12, down 57% from its 52-week high of $32.11 set a year earlier on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Courtship of chemistry

Over the past two years, two companies were in pursuit of Williams — London-based DTZ Holdings and FirstService. “Both I never heard of, both didn't mean anything to me,” says Jaccom.

Still, he managed to bring Williams' many internal partners into a dialogue about selling the firm. “DTZ turned us on for many reasons, but with that deal we would have sold 100% of the company, have no control, and we would just be employees.”

The turning point occurred in April when Jaccom and GVA Williams chairman Robert Freedman traveled to Toronto to meet with FirstService's founder.

“We met with one person, Jay Hennick. We walked in, we sat down with Jay and right away there was a chemistry,” recalls Jaccom. “Jay has an entrepreneurial spirit in running a public company. FirstService has maybe 12 people up there running this organization. Five hours later, we basically shook hands to go into the next stage of negotiations.”

FirstService took a 65% stake in GVA Williams. The remaining 35% of ownership shares were divvied up among a group of Williams partners. Five percent of the stock was given to 10 of Williams' highest producers and they became principal owners.

Another 5% of ownership shares were distributed between Williams' New Jersey and Connecticut operations, and the remaining 25% was split equally among Michael Cohen as president, Andrew Roos as vice chairman and principal, Brian Given as vice chairman and principal, Robert Freedman, executive chairman, and Jaccom, CEO.

The naming game

As a brand, unlike its competitors, FirstService is largely unknown in the United States. “The reason we are the fourth largest global real estate services provider that nobody ever heard of is that we've got to work through these branding issues that will take roughly a year,” says Freedman.

Given their substantial U.S. investments and the need to place various entities under one umbrella, FirstService executives say that marketing will become a front-burner issue in 2009. “FirstService is a name that hasn't really existed in the commercial real estate industry,” admits Frye. “It has not been out there. To a large degree we've marketed ourselves through Colliers. That's changing. Keep an eye on FirstService. You are going to see some unique things coming from this platform.”