Knight Frank and Bayleys make bid to buy out Australian real estate giant

Australian real estate industry leader John McGrath and the board of ASX-listed McGrath Limited are backing a $95.5 million buyout offer from a consortium comprising global property behemoth Knight Frank and New Zealand’s largest full-service real estate group, Bayleys.

McGrath has entered into a scheme implementation deed through which the consortium would acquire 100 percent of McGrath’s share capital by way of a scheme of arrangement.The consortium has offered to buy McGrath at 60 cents per share, which is a 27.7 percent premium on the closing price of McGrath shares the day before the announcement. Shareholders can also elect to receive an unlisted scrip alternative or a combination of both instead.

McGrath founder and CEO, John McGrath intends to elect to receive the unlisted scrip alternative for his stake, which represents about 23.3 percent of McGrath stock on issue. The McGrath board, which holds or controls about 48.1 percent of issued stock, unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme — unless there is a superior proposal — and subject to an independent expert concluding the deal is fair and in shareholders’ best interests.

Under the deal, Mr McGrath would continue in his role as CEO and managing director. Mr McGrath said he was looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunities available through his new international partners, with whom he said his agency shares “common values and cultures”. Mr McGrath said the network’s franchisees, agents and customers would benefit from the consortium’s global networks, expertise and access to high-net-worth clients.

John McGrath will stay on as CEO and managaing director

The scheme is subject to conditions, including approval by McGrath shareholders at a scheme meeting, which will likely be held in June. If the scheme is implemented, McGrath will be delisted from the ASX. The McGrath board is entitled to declare and pay a dividend prior to the scheme’s implementation, in which case the scheme consideration would not be reduced by the cash amount of the dividend.

Knight Frank CEO of Australia, James Patterson, said: “The acquisition would allow Knight Frank to have a leading position in residential and commercial real estate in Australia, creating a full-service real estate capability to support and advise clients and customers.”

Mr Patterson said the three brands would continue to operate as they are now under the deal. Bayleys managing director, Mike Bayley, commented: “The ability to share ideas and innovations as well as systems and information will add considerable value to our clients across Australasia.”

McGrath was founded in 1988 and listed on the ASX in 2015. A scheme booklet will be prepared and lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for review in due course. Meantime, shareholders can review further details in an investor presentation lodged with the ASX.

The Reserve Bank had little choice but to raise interest rates again this week.

Inflation was already proving stubborn before the latest Middle East instability added further pressure to energy prices and supply chains.

Housing inflation alone has averaged six per cent over the past year, remaining one of the single biggest contributors to CPI.

But while the focus remains on rates, the deeper problem is structural and far more dangerous.

Australia is not building enough homes, and the conditions required to fix that are deteriorating simultaneously.

Construction costs remain elevated. Builders are increasingly unwilling to absorb contract risk. Labour shortages persist.

Capital is becoming more expensive. And as borrowing capacity weakens and sentiment softens, fewer projects are becoming financially viable.

The result is a self-reinforcing cycle.

The RBA raises rates to fight inflation. Higher rates reduce development feasibility. Fewer projects start. Housing supply tightens further. Rents rise. Inflation persists. The RBA raises rates again.

The only long-term solution is supply, yet Australia remains nowhere near the National Housing Accord target of 240,000 new dwellings a year.

Completion continues to lag approvals, meaning many projects approved on paper are simply never making it out of the ground.

That gap matters enormously because housing is not just another sector of the economy.

Around two-thirds of Australian household wealth is tied to property, while the sector underpins millions of jobs and related industries. Weakness here quickly spreads beyond real estate.

We are already seeing signs of stress. Auction clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne have softened, borrowing capacity has declined, and parts of the market are experiencing price corrections as confidence weakens.

At the same time, policymakers continue to debate tax measures such as changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts, despite fears that such reforms could drive private capital out of the rental market at precisely the moment when supply is most constrained.

This is the paradox at the centre of Australia’s housing crisis.

Demand for property remains extraordinarily high, yet the economic conditions required to actually build new housing are worsening.

The Reserve Bank cannot solve that problem alone.

Monetary policy cannot accelerate planning approvals, reduce construction costs or create more tradies. It can only raise the cost of money until something eventually breaks.

And increasingly, that “something” looks like the development pipeline itself.

Paul Miron is the Co-Founder & Fund Manager of Msquared Capital.

Knight Frank and Bayleys make bid to buy out Australian real estate giant

John McGrath announced he would remain as CEO and managing director of McGrath Limited as the real estate company’s board recommended the sale to shareholders

Rising rates, construction inflation and shrinking investor confidence are pushing Australia deeper into a dangerous housing spiral that monetary policy alone cannot fix.