Home
CORT Expands Internationally with Acquisition of the Roomservice Group in London
FAIRFAX, VA (Januray 18, 2008) - CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company and the leading furniture provider in the "rent-to-rent" industry in the United States, has acquired Roomservice Group as part of an expansion into the United Kingdom.
The new UK operation, Roomservice by CORT, is CORT's first international acquisition in the company's 35-year history. Roomservice by CORT will provide furniture rental and design solutions for residential and commercial properties. In addition, the business will continue to provide furniture rental services to multi-national corporations, relocation service providers and their agents to support the relocation of international assignees.
The acquisition followed a long standing relationship between the two companies. Roomservice, a member of CORT's global partner network in 50 countries, was CORT's preferred provider in the UK for the past six years, doing business primarily in London and the surrounding region.
Jeff Pederson, President of CORT, commented, "The purchase of Roomservice is our first acquisition outside of the U.S. and clearly demonstrates our commitment to developing our global network of furniture solutions and relocation services. We believe our new UK operation will be ideally positioned to capitalize on a number of growth sectors, including the increased interest in institutional ownership of residential property."
Roger Hollis, Managing Director of Roomservice, said, "We are excited to now be owned by CORT, which will enable us to expand our operations throughout the UK. Having worked as CORT's preferred supplier in the UK for the past six years, we have a very good understanding of how the wider business operates and as a part of a Berkshire Hathaway company we will now benefit from strong financial resources and a global presence. We have always been impressed with CORT's approach, which combines a strong global business strategy with the flexibility to deliver at a local level."
CORT has appointed Blair Neller, former president of Globe Business Resources, a leading provider of furniture rental services to real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States, as a consultant to assist in capitalizing on the opportunities provided by increased institutional ownership of residential property.
Neller said, "We believe there are a number of similarities between the US market prior to the introduction of REITs and the current UK residential property market where the REIT model is now being introduced. By effecting this acquisition now, we will be well-positioned to take advantage of the growing appetite for residential property among financial institutions and large scale private investors."
Largemouth Communications (for CORT)
scott@largemouthpr.com
919-459-6452
In the UK, please contact:
Peter Walker
TTA Group (for CORT)
pwalker@ttagroup.co.uk
011-44-207-886-0274
