Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Our annual assessment of goodwill and other intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives has historically been completed as of the beginning of the fourth quarter of each year. We performed the 2022, 2021 and 2020 annual assessments as of October 1 and determined that no impairment existed as the estimated fair value of our reporting units was in excess of their carrying value.

During second quarter of 2022, we identified a triggering event due to changing market conditions in our Real Estate Investment segment for the Telford Homes business. We recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $26.4 million associated with this reporting unit attributable to the effects of elevated inflation on construction, materials and labor costs, driving an increase in Telford Homes’ risk as the contractor and reducing the profitability of current projects.

The following table summarizes the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in thousands):


	Advisory Services		Global Workplace Solutions		Real Estate Investments		Total
Balance as of December 31, 2020
Goodwill	$	3,348,788	$	937,797	$	628,530	$	4,915,115
Accumulated impairment losses	(761,448)		(175,473)		(156,585)		(1,093,506)
	2,587,340		762,324		471,945		3,821,609
Reallocation	(101,390)		101,390		—		—
Purchase accounting entries related to acquisitions	77,616		1,167,678		—		1,245,294
Impairment	—		—		—		—
Foreign exchange movement	(26,520)		(32,836)		(12,372)		(71,728)
Balance as of December 31, 2021
Goodwill	3,298,494		2,174,029		616,158		6,088,681
Accumulated impairment losses	(761,448)		(175,473)		(156,585)		(1,093,506)
	2,537,046		1,998,556		459,573		4,995,175

Purchase accounting entries related to acquisitions	19,909		60,443		—		80,352
Impairment	—		—		(26,405)		(26,405)
Foreign exchange movement	(35,973)		(123,837)		(20,930)		(180,740)
Balance as of December 31, 2022
Goodwill	3,282,430		2,110,635		595,228		5,988,293
Accumulated impairment losses	(761,448)		(175,473)		(182,990)		(1,119,911)
	$	2,520,982	$	1,935,162	$	412,238	$	4,868,382

During 2022, we completed eleven in-fill acquisitions: a leading project management firm in Spain and Portugal; two niche firms in the United Kingdom – one focused on retail/leisure assets and the other a regional property agent in the Oxfordshire area; a property consulting firm in Scotland; a consulting firm focused on real-estate-related sustainability issues in France; a valuation firm in New Zealand; a property tax consultancy in the United States; a technology company serving clients in our occupier outsourcing business; a professional services company in Australia focused on project development, execution and operation services; our former real estate brokerage affiliate in Iowa; and a technical services specialist focused on laboratory systems in our occupier outsourcing business.

Other intangible assets totaled $2.2 billion, net of accumulated amortization of $1.9 billion as of December 31, 2022, and $2.4 billion, net of accumulated amortization of $1.7 billion, as of December 31, 2021 and are comprised of the following (dollars in thousands):


	December 31,
	2022				2021
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization
Unamortizable intangible assets:
Management contracts	$	60,176			$	63,153
Trademarks	311,644				329,224

	371,820				392,377
Amortizable intangible assets:
Customer relationships	1,637,237		$	(774,385)	1,612,308		$	(667,668)
Mortgage servicing rights	1,029,540		(468,901)		1,005,357		(426,841)
Trademarks/Trade names	305,486		(129,244)		350,548		(126,468)
Management contracts	148,890		(145,650)		151,912		(137,906)
Covenant not to compete	3,720		(811)		73,750		(73,750)
Other	611,738		(396,734)		548,455		(292,647)
	3,736,611		(1,915,725)		3,742,330		(1,725,280)
Total intangible assets	$	4,108,431	$	(1,915,725)	$	4,134,707	$	(1,725,280)

Unamortizable intangible assets include management contracts identified as a result of the REIM Acquisitions relating to relationships with open-end funds, a trademark separately identified as a result of the 2001 Acquisition, a trade name separately identified in connection with the REIM Acquisitions and a trademark separately identified as part of the Turner & Townsend transaction.

Customer relationships relate to existing relationships acquired through acquisitions mainly in our Global Workplace Solutions segment that are being amortized over useful lives of up to 20 years.

Mortgage servicing rights represent the carrying value of servicing assets in the U.S. in our Advisory Services segment. The mortgage servicing rights are being amortized over the estimated period that net servicing income is expected to be received, which is typically up to 10 years. See Mortgage Servicing Rights discussion within Note 2 for additional information.

Trademarks are primarily from our 2015 GWS Acquisition which are being amortized over 20 years. During the fourth quarter of 2022, we recorded a non-cash impairment of approximately $21.9 million for trademarks associated with our Telford Homes business in the Real Estate Investment segment due to the impact of the inflationary conditions on construction materials negatively impacting cash flows (see Note 7).

Management contracts consist primarily of asset management contracts relating to relationships with closed-end funds and separate accounts in the U.S., Europe and Asia that were separately identified as a result of the REIM Acquisitions. These management contracts are being amortized over useful lives of up to 13 years.

Other amortizable intangible assets mainly represent transition costs, which primarily get amortized to cost of revenue over the life of the associated contract. It also includes a backlog related intangible identified as part of the Turner & Townsend transaction.

Amortization expense related to intangible assets, excluding amortization of transition costs, was $348.0 million, $276.5 million and $227.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The estimated annual amortization expense for each of the years ending December 31, 2023 through December 31, 2027 and thereafter approximates $300.1 million, $261.4 million, $219.9 million, $171.9 million, $141.8 million and $579.7 million, respectively.