LONDON and TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Foster + Partners today announced that it has completed a strategic partnership with Hennick & Company, a private family investment firm founded by the Hennick family (“HennickCo”).
For Foster + Partners, this new partnership is an important step in the evolution of the practice and will encourage further growth and innovation while maintaining its distinctive culture. The long-term agreement establishes a ‘perpetual partnership model’ that enables the practice to expand beyond its current 180 partners, ensures that the next generation of professionals can become shareholders in the practice, and allows for an orderly succession of existing partners over the long-term. At a general meeting of the shareholders, 100% of the partners voted and were unanimous in their support of the partnership with HennickCo.
Going forward, Lord Norman Foster and his family will remain the practice’s largest shareholders after the Hennick family who acquired a significant interest as part of this transaction. The practice’s existing partners will all remain as long-term shareholders and retain the balance of the equity. Lord Foster, who founded the practice in 1967 with his late wife Wendy, will continue to serve as Executive Chairman. All present partners will remain in their current roles and the existing leadership team will retain responsibility for day-to-day operations, thereby maintaining the integrity of the practice’s design ethos and providing long-term stability for the professionals who are central to its success, now and in the future.
To mark the occasion, Foster + Partners also announced that 24 of the current Partners were promoted to the position of Senior Partner.
Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, infrastructure, design, and engineering services. Its team of 1500 is headquartered in London, with studios in 13 other cities (Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Hong Kong, Madrid, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sydney). The average age of the team is 36, it commands over 65 languages and counts more than 200 skills by qualification.
Its landmark buildings include the Great Court at the British Museum in London, the Reichstag German Parliament in Berlin, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach, and the Narbo Via Museum of Roman Antiquities in Narbonne, France. The practice also designed the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Tower in Hong Kong and the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, as well as the corporate headquarters for Apple in California, Bloomberg in London, and Comcast in Philadelphia.
Foster + Partners also has experience delivering large scale infrastructure projects, such as the international airports in Hong Kong, Stansted, Beijing and Amman, sporting venues including Wembley Stadium in London and Lusail Stadium in Qatar, and bridges such as the Millau Viaduct in France and the Millennium Bridge in London over the River Thames. The practice’s projects currently under construction or shortly about to start on site include the new headquarters for JP Morgan in New York, the Prado Museum in Madrid, the One Beverly Hills development in Los Angeles, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, Spain and InnHub La Punt, Switzerland.
Lord Foster, Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners, said –
“Towards the end of last year, we started to explore long-term structures for the practice that would respond to the challenges and opportunities of growth and encourage the next generation of leadership and this partnership is the culmination of that process. We are delighted to be joining forces with the family trust of the Hennick’s, who share our values and the pursuit of excellence. This evolution has the potential to expand the range and depth of our studio – particularly in the fields of sustainability, infrastructure, urbanisation and recycling.”
Matthew Streets, Managing Partner, Foster + Partners, said –
“Our new partnership further fortifies the strong foundation upon which our practice was built. HennickCo’s long-term investment horizon and partnership philosophy were important factors in our decision to align with them. On behalf of all the professionals and partners of Foster + Partners, we could not be more excited about the future.”
Bradley Hennick, Managing Director, HennickCo, said –
“We are proud to partner with Lord Foster, his family and the other highly accomplished professionals and partners of this iconic global brand. This new partnership presents a unique opportunity to leverage our experience and long-term perspective to strengthen Foster + Partners’ position as the world’s preeminent architecture, infrastructure, engineering, and design consultancy. We look forward to working with the practice’s exceptional leadership team and partner shareholders to harness the extraordinary skills within the practice to grow into new and exciting areas in the years to come.”
About Hennick & Company
Hennick & Company is a private family investment firm that invests in high quality, growth-oriented businesses and real estate for the long-term. Established by the Hennick family, which founded and owns a significant interest in Colliers International and FirstService Corporation, HennickCo has made investments in professional services, financial services, and manufacturing businesses as well as institutional quality real estate properties. As a privately-owned company backed by permanent capital, HennickCo can invest in any industry or geography, in private or publicly traded businesses, at any point in the economic cycle. The firm does not have pre-determined investment hold periods and operates in an entrepreneurial fashion consistent with its founding. HennickCo’s goal is to identify, invest in and participate in the growth of great businesses and high-quality real estate assets in partnership with strong leadership teams. To learn more about HennickCo, please visit our website at www.hennick.com
