King to lose arm

King Sturge's Spanish arm to file for administration...

King Sturge España, the Spanish subsidiary of King Sturge, is to file for administration this week as a result of financial difficulties and the faltering Spanish property market.

The move comes after a difficult year for the firm in Spain, which has been hard hit with redundancies. It is understood that King Sturge Managing Director Sergio Martinez has also left the firm.

The firm operates out of nine offices across five cities in Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona.

It was to come under full-ownership of King Sturge as part of an expansion plan, hatched in February 2007, to take over all the European offices in which it had a stake.

In April 2008, King Sturge España was still in growth mode, opening two offices, in Seville and Malaga.

But negative global market conditions, compounded by a sharp downturn in the Spanish market, particularly in residential development, has meant this strategy has been difficult to fulfil.

King Sturge España provides services in agency, investment, project management on commercial property as well as residential property.

Source: www.propertyweek.com