Colliers International UK confirmed on Tuesday that it has received an approach from its major shareholder, Canadian property giant FirstService, which may lead to an offer for the London-based real estate services group.

FirstService currently has a 29.6% stake in the London and is required by 21 February to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away.

Colliers noted that there can be no certainty that the talks will result in an offer for the ordinary shares in the company. Furthermore, the approach represents a discount to Monday's closing price of 1.47p, which values the group at around £2 mln.

Colliers' shares were down nearly 30% to 1.02 pence a share following the announcement.

FirstService acquired 29.9% of Colliers International UK in October 2009. Other shareholders are AXA Framlington Investment Management (9.8%), Gartmore Fund Managers (5.6%) and UBS Global Asset Management (5.3%).

Led by former Jones Lang LaSalle executive Tony Horrell, the firm is part of Colliers International and has 13 offices in the UK and Ireland employing 700 staff. Colliers UK posted a loss £3.99 mln in the half-year to June 2011 but said it expects the businesses to break even in the second half. The business lost £8.4 mln in 2010.