Newmark Knight Frank Merges Northern California Operations With Cornish & Carey Commercial

NEW YORK, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Newmark Knight Frank and West Coast real estate powerhouse Cornish & Carey Commercial are merging their northern California operations, it was announced today by Barry M. Gosin, chief executive officer of Newmark Knight Frank. The deal—effective September 7, 2010—is the latest move the diversified commercial real estate firm has made as it continues to grow its company in national and international markets.

"A significant piece of our current growth strategy is to strengthen our presence in regional markets," says Gosin. "We have been looking for a long time for the right West Coast partner to match our strength in the East, and Cornish & Carey, with its strength in Silicon Valley and Northern California, is a perfect complement for us."

Calling this "an opportune time" to take the next step, Gosin terms the partnership with Cornish & Carey Commercial "an important tactical decision." Newmark Knight Frank's highly successful climb to its position as a leading global services firm began with its transformation from a regional to a national firm in 2001, later fortified with its union with London-based Knight Frank in 2006. (Combined transaction value has grown from $5.8 billion to over $40 billion worldwide over the last 10 years.) In recent years, the firm focused on investing internally, growing infrastructure and resources—from research, to financial modeling, to technology— while recruiting top talent. With little debt, Newmark Knight Frank waited out the "hyper" growth period of most of its competitors.

"Merging our San Francisco operations, including Silicon Valley, significantly strengthens our capabilities in the financial and technology sectors for our global clients," says Newmark Knight Frank President James D. Kuhn, "due to the synergistic nature of markets like New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and London." He stresses, "The distressed markets necessitate national coverage and as we see the ownership of the special servicers change, it is absolutely essential to have strong investment sales presence on both coasts. All Newmark Knight Frank's clients will stand to benefit greatly from the addition of such top talent and resources."

"Through the decades, Cornish & Carey's mission of innovating to meet and surpass the needs of our clients has remained its focal point," said C&C President and CEO Chuck Seufferlein.  "With this partnership, our ability to deliver on that mission will be enhanced significantly as we can now provide an expanded platform and consistent level of service globally while continuing to provide superior market expertise and client solutions regionally."

Newmark Knight Frank has committed to accelerating its growth opportunities and feels that this is a once in a decade opportunity to achieve its objectives. The company plans to significantly increase its platform over the next 12 to 24 months.

About Cornish & Carey Commercial

A dominant regional real estate force since 1935, Cornish & Carey Commercial provides a full range of services for both property owners and companies occupying buildings throughout Northern California.  More than 275 agents uphold C&C's core values of integrity and knowledge creating a powerful combination of people and services.  With 13 strategically located offices - Santa Clara, Palo Alto, San Mateo, San Francisco, Larkspur, Santa Rosa, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Emeryville, Pleasanton, Hayward, Roseville and Sacramento - Cornish & Carey Commercial is one of the most powerful privately held commercial real estate service providers in the world. For more information, visit Cornish & Carey Commercial online at:  www.ccarey.com.

About Newmark Knight Frank

Newmark Knight Frank is one of the largest independent real estate service firms in the world. Headquartered in New York, Newmark Knight Frank and London-based partner Knight Frank operate from over 200 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents. Last year, transactions were valued at more than $32 billion with annual revenues of over $811 million. With a combined staff of more than 6,300, this major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of owners, tenants, investors and developers worldwide. For further information, visit www.newmarkkf.com. 

SOURCE Newmark Knight Frank