Sherry Fitzgerald in advanced talks to buy Knight Frank
A spokesman for Kelly's family office, Castlegate, which paid €50m for Sherry Fitzgerald in 2022, said the firm 'has considered several opportunities to further develop its Sherry Fitzgerald investment, both organically and through acquisition, and that process is ongoing.'
Sources in the property sector say discussions between the parties have been ongoing for much of this year, but have recently progressed and are now at an 'advanced stage'. It is understood no deal has been signed or finally agreed as yet, however.
In 2013, James Meagher, Declan O'Reilly and Adrian Trueick took over the Knight Frank brand in Ireland through their property advisory firm HT Meagher O'Reilly, after the global real estate agency's licence agreement with the Ganly Walters Partnership ended.
The trio previously worked at DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, but left the company in 2004 after a failed management buyout.
Mr Kelly's acquisition of Shery Fitzgerald via Castlegate sent ripples through the Irish property sector, with founder and former 50pc shareholder Mark FitzGerald earning a major €25m payout from the deal.
The transaction was the first acquisition by Castlegate after Roy Barrett, the former managing director of Goodbody Stockbrokers, was appointed to manage Mr Kelly's €500m fortune in 2021. He left Castlegate in 2024.
Sherry Fitzgerald's most recent set of accounts showed the group swung back into profit in 2023, making €1.3m following a loss of €226,000 the previous year. Turnover in the year was €34.8m, down slightly from €35.3m in 2022.
Mr Kelly made much of his fortune after he founded eShopWorld (ESW) in 2010. It works with retailers across the world, such as Nike and Calvin Klein, to help them localise their websites for about 200 markets.
ESW was sold in 2021 in a deal that likely valued the business at about €1bn. The Irish firm was acquired by Asendia, a joint venture between units of France's La Poste and La Poste Suisse.
Asendia had been a shareholder since 2013, and had raised its stake in the business to 50.1pc in 2017.
Mr Kelly owned the bulk of the remainder of ESW, meaning he is likely to have reaped about €500m from the sale. The value of the deal has never been officially disclosed.
ESW's technology also helps handle a range of services for clients, from dealing with taxes and tariffs, to delivery, returns, fraud protection and data security.
Before ESW, Mr Kelly led TwoWay Vanguard, one of Ireland's biggest transportation groups. He founded that business with his brother in 1998 and sold it in 2006 to Dubai-based logistics firm Aramex.
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