The architecture of a good succession plan
The Rexall Centre, designed by architects Young + Wright.
The partners at Young & Wright Associates faced a classic private company challenge: how to get their capital out of the company and still provide opportunities for growth – for themselves and their professional team. The four principals of the Toronto-based architectural firm were all in their late 50s. They’d toyed with succession plans before. In one instance, they’d almost signed, but couldn’t agree on terms. In another, they hired an accountant and a lawyer to manage the search for a buyer, but that failed also. They were stuck. They were also running a thriving, highly-respected enterprise, with 110 employees in Toronto, Vancouver and Shanghai. They had a reputation for creating ‘buildings that work,’ including the Rogers Centre (built as the SkyDome), the Schulich Business School at York University and the Rexall Tennis Centre, and they had a pipeline of international projects in China and the Middle East. Says partner, JamieWright: “When it came to our succession plan, we felt we were going in circles. Looking back, it was because we were trying to do it ourselves or with advisors who only knew our business, and less about the business of selling a business. That was the key right there.”
