Williams RE forms venture with Britain-based firm

Real Estate Weekly, May 19, 1993

New York City-based Williams International Property Advisors (WIPA) -- the international division of Williams Real Estate Co., Inc.' announced the formation of a venture with Grimley J R Eve (GJRE), a leading international real estate advisory group based in Britain, with offices throughout the European and Southeast Asian markets.

Grimley J R Eve has also become a member of the International Commercial Realty Services (ICRS), tapping into the resources and client base of leading real estate firms in 24 major American cities. ICRS manages 90 million square feet of property across the country, and consummated more than $3.5 billion worth of transactions last year alone.

Established in 1988 by a merger between Birmingham-based Grimley & Sons and J R Eve of London, Grimley J R Eve has rapidly grown to be the third largest property consulting firm in the United Kingdom, with offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester,

1, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh. GJRE's continental European headquarters are in Brussels, with additional offices throughout the major European cities. A merger with the Vigers practice in 1991 strengthened GJRE's international representation, especially in the Far East Pacific region, where Vigers maintains offices in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johar Bahru, Singapore, Surabaya and Jakarta.

For Williams, this venture further bolsters the firm's global representation, coming on the heels of a similar agreement with Corporacion Mexicana de Inrnuebles (CMI) of Mexico, which was engineered by Managing Director of Williams Leon Manoff, who continues to explore expansion opportunities in Latin America. Also, WIPA was recently designated the exclusive North American marketing agent for the French Marne-La-Vallee development, and GJRE/WIPA were selected to represent the British Government in meeting their New York City occupancy requirements of 80,000 to 100,000 square feet.

As a result of this cooperative venture, Williams and Grimley J R Eve will function as joint advisors on all international work in the U.S., United Kingdom and Belgium, and in France, for the Marne-La-Vallee development of 32,000 acres, to the east of Paris.