‘Business as usual’ for CVS following Altus takeover

Altus Group, a real estate company headquartered in Canada with offices in Wythenshawe, has acquired business rates practice CVS for £36.3m.

CVS is a privately-owned property tax service provider, with around 230 staff based across Oakland House in Manchester, and office in London and Bristol. The acquisition brings the total number of people at Altus to more than 400.

An Altus spokesperson said: “Altus Group in Manchester has approximately 50 people; CVS Manchester has approximately 150. Both CVS and Altus Group have an office in Manchester and this is an important market for Altus Group. CVS also has offices in London and Bristol, and Altus Group also has offices in these markets.

“It’s still early days and Altus Group is looking at all of their operations and are still evaluating what’s best for the business. For now, it’s business as usual in all locations. At this point, Altus Group is not closing any offices or moving anyone. They will be carefully evaluating to determine the best way of going forward.

“Talent acquisition is a key part of Altus Group’s M&A strategy and they believe the addition of the approximately 230 CVS professionals will strengthen their expertise and allow them to even better serve clients. With the acquisition of CVS, they are looking to grow and acquire experts.”

Operating for more than 17 years, CVS has gained substantial market share in the UK property market and is widely recognized as the largest provider of business rates advisory services based on the volume of appeals.

London-based CVS chief executive Mark Rigby is understood to be departing after the deal.