Expansion strategy for global commercial real estate association

Background

Plural’s client is a leading global membership organisation for the commercial real estate industry
The association plays a vital role in promoting the industry, facilitating networking, providing research to members and supporting talent development
It has a substantial and loyal membership base and generates most of its revenues through a portfolio of successful and profitable events
The company conducted a wide-ranging strategic review to determine how it should strengthen and extend its role within the industry, and how it can grow its membership and product offering
To accelerate these growth initiatives, the organisation employed Plural to conduct a market mapping study

Plural helped the commercial real estate industry association to:

Define and size and addressable product/market segments
Assess the demand dynamics and fit with members’ current and future needs
Map the competitive landscape and dynamics per segment
Identify strategically relevant partners in attractive adjacencies and assess the potential value
Develop an actionable M&A framework to identify and prioritise potential acquisition targets

Plural laid out four potential M&A routes that could drive the growth of the organisation either through attracting new members or by better serving current members’ needs
Strategic routes included commercial real estate marketplaces, news and research platforms, market intelligence and alternative format events
For each of the four strategic M&A routes, Plural agreed on parameters to be used to assess the most attractive asset types
Following a workshop, 13 asset types were prioritized across the four strategic routes in line with the prioritisation parameters
Working with the client, nine assets were shortlisted based on the strength of capabilities, synergies and feasibility
The prioritised assets support clear strategic outcomes for the client, all of which have a direct impact on the advancement of the organisation’s goals