The Ontario Broker - Volume 23, Issue 3 - 30

Feature
EARLY PROSPECTS
" When I started at McFarlan in 1989, we
were buying a lot of brokerages, " says Burke
Neale, McFarlan Rowlands CEO. " When we
merged with Rowlands, that stopped. Our
CEO at the time didn't want to take on debt.
When I stepped in as CEO in 2017, I knew we
needed scale that organic growth couldn't
achieve on its own. We'd buy a brokerage or
two and pause a couple years to integrate. "
Burke says they always had an internal
succession plan, but it was becoming more
onerous to deliver.
" Interest rates changed, the brokerage
grew too much, we were the victim of our
own success really. We had many suitors.
I always said we weren't for sale, but a
brokerage put an offer on the table, and
I was obligated to tell our shareholders.
Once they realized the value, they thought
this is good. "
That deal fell through.
" After that we broadened our thinking a
bit. There were discussions about putting
McFarlan out to market, which I resisted
quite strongly. I said there were only
two brokerages I'd consider, one being
McDougall. They have a compelling story.
And our culture is so similar. Even though
they're twice our size, McDougall said,
you guys run Western Ontario and we'll
run Eastern Ontario and we'll just keep
doing what we're doing. That's really how
it came about. "
" It came down to continuity for our
brokerage, " says Christa. " We were owned
by the shareholders who continued to
work within the business. That helped
us over the years. But with the volume of
shareholdings, and rising interest rates, it
became increasingly difficult to continue to
perpetuate internally. We wanted to choose
our partner rather than be forced to find
one. We've always had conversations with
McDougall. Definity had recently taken
majority share, and we were interested in
learning more. "
30
The Ontario Broker

The Ontario Broker - Volume 23, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ontario Broker - Volume 23, Issue 3

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The Ontario Broker - Volume 23, Issue 3 - Cover1
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The Ontario Broker - Volume 23, Issue 3 - Cover3
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