Local investment team named top in the country

Real Estate Weekly, March 27, 1996

With 25 offices and 80 brokers across the United States, the Financial Services Group represents a distinct area of service from commercial brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield. It provides counsel on acquisitions, dispositions and financing for all property types. The New Jersey team includes Andrew Merin, managing director; David Bernhaut, director; Susan Nissim, assistant director; and Gary Gabriel.

"The last 24 months have produced an explosion of investment sales transactions led by the pension fund advisors and REITs," Merin said. "During 1995, stepped up investor optimism, improving market conditions and burgeoning capital availability all contributed to our best performance since the New Jersey Financial Services Group was formed in 1987."

The 1995 activity involved seven retail deals totaling nearly 1.2 million square feet, two industrial sales totaling more than 1.68 million square feet and six office building transactions totaling more than 1.77 million square feet.

Highlights include the sale of Rockaway 80 and the Meadows Office Complex, an 816,681 square-foot Class A office portfolio in Rockaway and Rutherford to a value-added investor/developer; the sale of the 1,478,353 square-foot Port Jersey Industrial Center to a pension fund advisor; and the sale of the 506,855 square-foot Metropolitan Center at Florham Park to an entrepreneurial pension fund advisor.

Consistent Performance

The New Jersey Financial Services Group has been a leading force in the achievements of Cushman & Wakefield across the country. With 25 years of leasing experience, Merin has consistently been among the top achievers in the company, and 1995 was his second consecutive year as the firm's leading financial services broker in the nation.

"We have a very diverse and talented team that has contributed to our progress," Merin noted. Bernhaut's experience includes 10 years of real estate syndications and investment brokerage, plus an MBA in Real Estate Finance from Columbia University. Gabriel offers a background in finance and mortgage brokerage; and Nissim offers property management and appraisal expertise. Working as a single unit, these professionals cover every aspect of real estate.

The team has completed 38 transactions since 1992 totaling more than 8.5 million square feet for an aggregate dollar volume of $649 million. Working on behalf of owners, developers, corporations, financial institutions, pension funds and real estate advisors, the Group has represented such well-known companies as Prudential, Aetna, MetLife, Mass Mutual and John Hancock.

The Financial Services Group is one of Cushman and Wakefield of New Jersey's core services. The company opened in New Jersey in 1970 and has emerged as one of the largest real estate firms serving the needs of business in the state. It is part of the larger Cushman & Wakefield organization, an international real estate services firm founded in 1917 that specializes in office and industrial brokerage; financial services; valuation advisory; and asset, corporate and research services. The firm has 40 offices in the U.S. and operations through Cushman & Wakefield Worldwide in Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America, South Africa, the Middle East and Asia.