Newmark forms joint venture

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 12, 2001

Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc. has formed a joint venture with London's commercial real estate services company, Nelson Bakewell. The announcement was made by James D. Kuhn, president of Newmark, and Michael Hatt, managing director of Nelson Bakewell.

According to Kuhn, "This initiative presents a significant opportunity for us to develop our international investment and advisory business by entering a key economic market through a joint venture with a well-established service provider such as Nelson Bakewell. The synergy between our companies will enable us to serve our expanding client base by providing investment and corporate advisory services in the vital London economic hub. This venture will also enable Nelson Bakewell to provide expanded services for its clients in the New York market, as well as facilitate both firms' commitment to developing client relationships in a global economy.

Newmark Nelson Bakewell will have offices in London and New York. Staffing for Newmark Nelson Bakewell will be made up of executives from both firms' corporate and investment services teams.

Initially, the combined team for the offices in the UK and US will have 15 senior investment and corporate services professionals. Senior executives said this venture should help unlock higher business volumes and support both firms' initiatives to develop an international investment client base.

Having teamed with Nelson Bakewell on assignments throughout the UK for the last five years, Newmark found that the two firms had similar cultures, histories founded in property management, common clients, and rapidly expanding tenant representation and corporate services businesses. This joint venture will give each firm a strong presence in the two financial capitals of the world.

Alan Dornford, Nelson Bakewell's director of international services and managing director of the new venture said, "I believe that first and foremost clients want consistent quality from their advisors. In practice this means consistency in terms of people who all know and understand what the customer wants. By merging our activities in this way, we are able to ensure consistent delivery across a common platform between the key hub markets of London and New York."

Newmark Nelson Bakewell represents the latest move in a strategic international growth plan initiated by Newmark in 1998. Over the past three years, Newmark has grown its national and international presence through new offices, acquisitions, and expansions in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, Chicago, Dallas, and Tokyo. In addition, the firm recently acquired an interest in Koeppel Tener Real Estate Services, Inc., a national, full-service appraisal due diligence firm, and in KTR Environmental Services, Inc. Newmark also increased its metropolitan New York suburban presence by acquiring Jacobson, Goldfarb & Tanzman Company LLC in New Jersey and Whitman Realty in Long Island.