Avison Young opens new office in Dallas, Texas

Leading Canadian commercial real estate firm opens seventh location outside Canada, recruits Brock Wilson as Managing Director; Scott Fikes and Alex Bryant also join company's Houston office

TORONTO, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today the opening of a newly-formed Dallas, Texas office, and that industry veteran Brock Wilson has been recruited as Managing Director. Meanwhile, commercial real estate brokers Scott Fikes and Alex Bryant join Avison Young's existing Houston office. All three were formerly with Grubb & Ellis in Texas.

Effective immediately, Wilson also becomes a Principal of Avison Young and will lead the expansion of Avison Young's business in Dallas. The new Dallas office will be located at #1000-5956 Sherry Lane.

Fikes and Bryant join Avison Young's Houston operations as Vice-Presidents in the tenant representation services group and will help expand Avison Young's tenant representation and corporate-services platform in Houston and throughout Texas.

"We are very excited to have Brock, Scott and Alex join the Avison Young team and, at the same time, expand Avison Young's Texas-area presence," comments Rose. "We have always considered Dallas as one of the key commercial markets in the U.S., and with the hiring of Brock, we are able to begin building our business in Dallas to complement our rapidly growing Houston-based business."

Rose adds: "Dallas has a broad range of corporate occupiers, deep institutional ownership of property, and a strong demographic and infrastructure, making Dallas a very attractive market for Avison Young to grow into."

The newest American office represents Avison Young's seventh location outside of Canada and gives the leading Canadian commercial real estate firm its second office in the Texas market. (Avison Young opened its Houston office in June 2010.) Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"Brock will work closely with Rand Stephens, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's Houston office, to build a broad-based Avison Young presence in Dallas as quickly as possible," explains Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations.

"Scott and Alex are two of the best young brokers in the Houston area, having developed some outstanding client relationships and an enviable track record of success. We're thrilled to have them join us at this critical time in our growth in Houston and throughout the Southwest, and they will be key contributors to our ongoing success in these markets," says Webb.

Over the past two and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 24 offices and from 300 to more than 750 real estate professionals across Canada and in the U.S.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young acquiring Virginia-based Millennium Realty Advisors, LLC earlier this week.

"Opening a new office in Dallas ─ one of the largest markets in the U.S. ─ while growing our Houston operations is a strategic move that will allow us to provide a full-service platform in Texas and the Southwest region of the U.S.," says Stephens in Houston. "Brock is a veteran of the Dallas market, and Scott and Alex are recognized as 'top guns' in the Houston market. More importantly, all three are highly-regarded real estate professionals who are client-centric and exude the type of character we are looking for at Avison Young."

"As our industry is currently revamping and consolidating, Avison Young has a clean, fresh business model and is committed to expanding the Dallas office immediately," comments Wilson. "The fact that Avison Young is a Principal-managed and led organization is very attractive, and to have an equity position with the fastest-growing company in our industry is incredibly exciting."

According to Fikes: "Our industry has been through a lot of hardship in the last few years and it was very important to me to be with a company that has a great management team and that is well-capitalized going into the future. The company's commitment to its long-term growth strategy and its vision to build the leading international commercial real estate services firm is something I am excited to be a part of."

Bryant adds: "I admire Avison Young's client-first culture, and I look forward to working with the Texas and international team to provide a secure and fully-integrated service platform for our valuable clients."

Biographies

Brock Wilson
Wilson was Senior Vice-President in Grubb & Ellis Company's industrial services group in Dallas from 2008 to 2011, specializing in tenant representation for local and corporate users of space as well as institutional owners. Over the last 10 years, he has negotiated more than 500 lease and investment transactions in multiple states across the U.S.

Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Wilson was leasing director, regional director, and ultimately senior vice-president, West region for First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. He was directly responsible for the marketing and leasing of 25 million square feet of industrial space and more than 3,000 acres of development property across seven states and Western Canada. Wilson dramatically improved occupancy rates for First Industrial during his seven years with the company.

Wilson holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors (NTCAR), and Southwest advisory member of CoreNet.

Scott Fikes
Fikes' sales and management experience led him to a position with Grubb & Ellis' office group in Houston, specializing in tenant and landlord representation. Clients included Tesco, Koch Industries, Benteler Steel and Tube, ENGlobal Corporation, Brinderson and DeepFlex, Inc.

Fikes brings to Avison Young seven years of experience in the real estate industry, encompassing all aspects of project management, sales and marketing, management and finance. Areas of expertise include transaction negotiation, team co-ordination, customer service and client development.

Fikes received the Grubb & Ellis Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and was elected to the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Houston office Board of Directors. In 2008, he earned the Top 10 producer designation in the Houston office. Fikes holds a B.B.A. from Texas A&M University.

Alex Bryant
Bryant was most recently a senior associate with Grubb & Ellis's office group in Houston, providing professional tenant-representation services and specializing in portfolio evaluation, financial structuring and business development. With extensive knowledge of alternative lease structures, Bryant seeks to bring more value and cost savings to his clients. Through lease analysis, financial and demographic model development, he helps organizations develop and execute long-term real estate plans that reduce expenses and increase efficiency.

Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis in 2010, Bryant was at Studley for several years, serving national and local accounts for such industries as legal, insurance, engineering, energy, financial services and construction. Bryant has also served as a financial data analyst at a real estate appraisal firm.

Bryant holds a B.B.A. in finance from Texas A&M University. He is a member of the Houston Downtown Alliance; NAIOP-developing leaders; Friends of St. Jude's Children's Hospital; Houston chapter of Young Professionals of Finance; and Houston Young Professionals for the Arts.

Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company and the only national, Canadian-owned, principal-managed real estate brokerage firm in the country. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and ranked among Canada's leading national commercial real estate organizations, Avison Young is a full-service commercial real estate company comprising more than 750 real estate professionals in 24 offices across Canada and in the U.S. The company provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-residential properties.

•Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Brock Wilson, Scott Fikes and Alex Bryant:

http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Brock_Wilson.jpg

http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Scott_Fikes.jpg

http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Alex_Bryant.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.