Avison Young acquires Raleigh-based Hunter & Associates, LLC

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Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Mar 20, 2017, 09:00 ET

Purchase further expands Avison Young's business-line coverage in North Carolina; Banks Hunter becomes Principal, 11 members join

TORONTO, March 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today that it has acquired Raleigh, NC-based Hunter & Associates, LLC.

Founded in 1989 by Banks Hunter, Hunter & Associates is a full-service commercial real estate company specializing in retail leasing, property management and brokerage services. Effective immediately, Hunter & Associates is rebranded as Avison Young and 11 new members join the firm. Banks Hunter becomes a Principal of Avison Young and will continue to focus on assisting clients with sales and lease transactions as well as business development.

The purchase further expands Avison Young's property management, retail real estate brokerage, and landlord and tenant-representation service offerings in the Carolinas. As a result of the acquisition, Avison Young adds more than 1.7 million square feet (msf) of retail and office properties under management in the Triangle area, and 3.5 msf of retail and office lease listings (including 65 shopping centers) from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, SC. (Avison Young currently has 7 msf of commercial property under management in North Carolina and more than 100 msf of retail, industrial and office properties under management in North America.)

"We're thrilled that Banks and his highly experienced team of brokers and property management specialists are joining the Avison Young family in Raleigh," comments Rose. "They will help us provide an even higher level of service to clients throughout the Carolinas and in other national and international markets. With Hunter & Associates, Banks has built one of the largest retail real estate brokerage organizations in the Raleigh region. His market knowledge, positive client and business relationships, outstanding leadership skills and entrepreneurism will be of tremendous benefit to our company, clients and partners alike as we continue to expand our full-service business line coverage throughout Raleigh, the Carolinas and across the U.S."

With one property under management, the historic Professional Building in downtown Raleigh, Banks Hunter founded Hunter & Associates to provide property owners with a comprehensive resource for leasing, management and brokerage services. The company continued to grow its inventory of properties and became the largest local retail brokerage firm in the region while co-ordinating the renovations of several centers, including Saltbox Village and Homestead Market. The firm focused on leasing and/or managing properties that ranged from small neighborhood strip centers to regional community centers to smaller service-oriented sites, while grocery-anchored locations became the staples of the business.

Over the past 28 years, Hunter & Associates has represented a variety of interests, from smaller landlord entities to major retail developers as well as institutional clients such as Prudential Financial, Inland American Retail Group, Simon Property Group and Principal Real Estate Investors. Hunter & Associates has also been heavily involved in ground-up leasing at properties such as East 54 in Chapel Hill, Wake Forest Crossing, Alexander Village at Brier Creek, and Lynncroft in Greenville, NC.

Also joining Avison Young from Hunter & Associates are: David Stowe and MaryAnn Peterson, Senior Vice-Presidents; Lin Gaudette and Tommy Honey, Vice-Presidents; Rebekah Faile, Brokerage Assistant; Ashely Cicero, Heather Langdon and Scott Mettler, Property Managers; Stefanie Scott, Client Services Co-ordinator; and Margaret Williams, Property Accountant.

"Banks Hunter and his team will play a critical role in expanding Avison Young's footprint in a region that we consider to be under-serviced by the commercial real estate industry, particularly when it comes to retail assets," notes Earl Webb, Avison Young's President of U.S. Operations. "This group of seasoned professionals understands that property management is an essential part of the operation and success of any commercial development. Furthermore, Banks and his team strongly value a collaborative culture and detailed management approach while emphasizing open communication with all parties and continuously striving to operate each property in a proficient and professional manner. Simply stated, Banks and his team are an ideal fit and this acquisition will be seamless when it comes to serving new and existing clients."

Avison Young entered the North Carolina market in October 2012 through the acquisition of Thomas Linderman Graham Inc. (a full-service commercial real estate services company) and resultant opening of new Avison Young offices in Raleigh and Chapel Hill. Following that acquisition, Avison Young opened a new office in Charlotte in May 2013.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to work more closely with Banks Hunter and his team," says John Linderman, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director for North Carolina. "This acquisition will enable the new team to provide greater marketing depth and services to clients, and will also strengthen Avison Young's retail services platform across North Carolina and the rest of the U.S. I have known Banks and many members of his team for decades; we're looking forward to having Banks as a partner."

Before launching his own firm in 1989, Hunter spent eight years working with Lincoln Developers (now BPG Properties) in Raleigh, where he concentrated on both leasing and the subsequent sale of investment properties. Early in his career, he was involved with managing the sales of the converted Cameron Village condominiums. In this role, he sold more than 150 condominiums on behalf of developer York Construction Company.

"Our team is looking forward to capitalizing on Avison Young's global brand as well as its comprehensive market knowledge and international network of leading real estate professionals," says Hunter. "Our organization had expanded to the point where we needed to partner with a leading company that believes in aggressive growth, collaboration and a client-centric approach that is closely aligned with our own. We look forward to expanding Avison Young's business-line coverage here in Raleigh and facilitating more multi-market property management and retail sales and leasing transactions in conjunction with our new colleagues across the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico and Europe."

Hunter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Triangle Commercial Association of Realtors, and holds the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation.

Over the past eight years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 79 offices and from 300 to more than 2,400 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young acquiring Rutherford, NJ-based Cresa NJ-North/Central, LLC (CNJ) on March 6, 2017 and Atlanta-based Hotel Assets Group, LLC on Jan. 17, 2017.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,400 real estate professionals in 79 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality properties.

The matters discussed in this news release may include forward-looking statements, which could involve a number of risks and uncertainties. When used in this press release, the words "will," "believes," "intends," "anticipates," "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by any applicable securities laws, Avison Young undertakes no obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any of the forward-looking statements.

For further information/comment/photos:

Sherry Quan, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647-5098; mobile: 604.726-0959
Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028
Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610
John Linderman, Principal & Managing Director, Raleigh, Avison Young: 919.420.1559
Banks Hunter, Principal, Avison Young: 919.821.8023, ext. 206

www.avisonyoung.com

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