It is all in the name for property consulting firm Edmund Tie & Company - or at least it soon will be.

The firm's original founders have bought back a majority shareholding in the company, which has been operating as DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) for the past 16 years.

It was relaunched as Edmund Tie & Co yesterday after Mr Tie and other shareholders bought the roughly 69 per cent stake held by property firm Cushman & Wakefield.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) was formed in 2000 with the alliance of Edmund Tie & Co, CY Leung & Co in North Asia and DTZ Holdings in London.

TPG Capital bought DTZ in 2011, and Cushman last year, merging the two entities globally.

Cushman and DTZ continued to operate separately in Singapore but Cushman ended up holding the 69 per cent in DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA).

Mr Tie and other original founders still held about 31 per cent in the South-east Asia branch of DTZ.

Mr Tie had set up Edmund Tie & Co with other Singapore directors in 1995 after eight years as managing director at Jones Lang Wootton's Singapore office.

"Today, if you look across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand's commercial and residential skyline, you will find our positive imprint in the success of our clients," Mr Tie said.

"The strategic decision to once again operate under the Edmund Tie & Co brand is motivated by our longstanding commitment to form a firm driven by a distinctly Asian business philosophy, yet offering international standards of expertise."

Under the new company structure, Mr Tie will continue to be chairman, with support from chief executive Ong Choon Fah, who also heads the firm's research and consulting departments.

The firm's hospitality management division is headed by executive director Heng Hua Thong. Its portfolio includes Treetops Executive Residences.

Its residential division is led by Ms Margaret Thean. She leads the associate agency.