Wesgroup Brings Entity Management In-House to Save Money and Manage Property Information

Wesgroup, one of Canada's most dynamic real estate development firms, has built an impressive $4 billion portfolio by staying ahead of industry trends and embracing cutting-edge strategies. 

Known for developing sustainable, mixed-use spaces that redefine urban living, Wesgroup's innovation extends beyond its properties. It manages a range of residential, commercial, and industrial developments while maintaining a vertically integrated and collaborative culture.

At the heart of Wesgroup's success is a commitment to breaking down silos and fostering seamless collaboration between teams. As the company expanded, this adaptability became critical, especially when their legal team faced increasing challenges managing complex entity data. Recognizing the need for a more agile and centralized solution, Wesgroup turned to Athennian to streamline entity management, boost operational efficiency, and empower cross-functional teams.

"I started working at Wesgroup around the COVID-19 pandemic. I was working remotely, so I didn't have a chance to sit down and dig into the documents. I would often get asked, 'Hey, who can sign for this entity?' or something else, and I would have no clue. And we were 100% dependent on the external counsel at that time," says David Grout, General Counsel at Wesgroup. 

As Wesgroup's operations grew, they discovered that their paper-based entity management system was holding them back. Siloed data was dragging decision-making and hindering collaboration, making entity-related documentation and compliance cumbersome. 

David also wanted to bring the entity processes in-house for quicker access to information and stronger control over entity management. Instead of calling the external counsel for a task or emailing the legal team, Wesgroup teams could easily log into an in-house platform, access the desired information—knowing it is up-to-date and accurate—and be empowered to make key decisions. 

“So all of that was a big impetus for me to bring the knowledge and data in-house just because not having access to it, not having it at our fingertips and knowing what it is, and sending all of it out to the external counsel was a big risk,” he adds. 

Saving over $10,000 on a single project by bringing processes in-house

Wesgroup’s decentralized entity management structure made it difficult for the legal team to keep up with constantly shifting regulations, from corporate governance to tax laws and building codes. 

When a new tax legislation was introduced in Canada, it required thorough documentation to confirm ownership and structure. Wesgroup faced a significant challenge due to its complex entity setup, where each property is associated with three entities, including a nominee corporation. This new regulation was impacting over 100 Wesgroup entities.

Thankfully, they had already onboarded Athennian by then, making the whole process much smoother. 

“Our VP of tax was able to get everything he needed just from getting into Athennian and going through and validating, which again if we had to do that with our external counsel, the bill would have been at least easily $10,000 for that.” 

Although the legislation was later retracted, the process proved Athennian’s value as a dependable single source of truth for entity management, allowing Wesgroup to quickly adapt and confidently meet regulatory demands.

Improving data accessibility for tax teams

Wesgroup struggled with managing a massive amount of paperwork and entity information across its 300 entities, some of which dated back over 30 years. This overwhelming responsibility was especially challenging for the company’s lean legal team.

Sometimes, the paperwork included old and fragile documents, which made scanning, validating, and vetting information complicated and lengthy. As the volume of these documents increased, it became even more challenging to manage. New team members faced an uphill battle, learning the manual entity management processes, which was neither efficient nor ideal.

"If you don't have access to the right information, that's a problem. But if you have access to the wrong information, that's an even bigger problem. Having a single source of truth for our entity data was our guiding light," describes David. 

“Previously, when our VP of Tax needed information, they would call the external counsel. But there is always a bill attached to that process, and sometimes there’s a delay in getting documents back. Now, with Athennian, our VP of Tax has entity information at his fingertips. Having confidence in the accuracy of the data is a game changer for us." 

The impact of integrating Athennian has been transformative in fostering closer collaboration between tax and legal teams. Wesgroup began by rolling out Athennian only to the legal team, but as more people started using the platform, it was expanded to include tax and finance teams as well.

"Collaboration is the biggest risk mitigator. Real estate is risky enough of a business as it is, and we don't need to make it more risky by having people working in silos. So we very actively try to break down those silos by centralizing entity data for our legal, finance, tax, and other relevant teams," says Dave. 

Athennian’s integration aligned perfectly with Wesgroup’s culture of trust, transparency, and collaboration, empowering teams to streamline processes, reduce silo risks, and improve overall productivity.

Adding granular property data for powerful entity insights

One of Wesgroup’s biggest challenges was managing detailed entity information at the property level. Each property had its own set of documents—like title reports and financing details—making it hard to access the information quickly and efficiently.

"Every property has got its title report and financing. There are no two properties we have that are the same," says David. 

"With Athennian, we can add more property-level information, which we need regularly, like a copy of the title. We all know it's inside Athennian and all linked together. It helps complete the puzzle," he adds. 

Beyond managing individual properties, Athennian enabled Wesgroup to focus on essential, lasting data, avoiding outdated or irrelevant information. The platform also enhanced their ability to handle complex investment structures and partnerships in-house, reducing the need for external legal counsel.

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