NGKF Signs Six Partners

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

NGKF’s Michael Sheinkop

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is expanding its reach throughout the United States by partnering with local real estate firms in secondary and tertiary markets, most recently in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Arkansas, North Dakota, Florida and South Carolina.

The partnerships give both NGKF and the local firms the best of all worlds, according to Michael Sheinkop, executive managing director and a regional managing director based in NGKF’s Chicago office.

“Now that we are a much larger powerhouse firm, it’s a good business model to include very good local firms in tertiary and secondary markets,” he told Commercial Property Executive.

While NGKF doesn’t own the firms, they are viewed as partners and “we embrace them in every sense of the word,” he said.

Sheinkop describes the firms as “best-in class local experts who share our philosophy to develop optimal solutions for clients facing complex real estate issues.”

The local firms get the power and benefits for partnering with a leading New York-based global commercial real estate services firm. The NGKF affiliation gives them a national platform to help them sell up, he said.

“Our new partners place a value on our reach and resources in New York, a strong and productive international presence and a robust corporate services infrastructure,” Sheinkop said in a news release. “They’ll be able to offer their clients a broader and deeper menu of services, coupled with a global footprint.”

Several of the firms were Grubb & Ellis affiliates. Newmark Knight Frank was acquired by BGC Partners, Inc., a global brokerage company serving the wholesale financial and real estate markets, in October 2011. In April 2012, BGC acquired the assets of the bankrupt Grubb & Ellis and formed Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, which now has more than 340 offices across five continents and offers a full platform of services to multinational corporations and institutional investors.

One new partner is the firm now known as Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort with offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla. Harrison Levy and Mark Beffort’s firm was affiliated with Grubb & Ellis. They recently merged with William T. Strange & Associates, which was a Sperry Van Ness affiliate.

Sheinkop said the Oklahoma City partnership shows how working with a local company can make the NGKF brand stronger. The firm offers brokerage, development, investment and other commercial real estate services.

“It’s got such a strong economy of late caused by the energy business and we have a big energy practice. It’s great to help us support opportunities,” he said of Oklahoma City.

The other Central U.S. partnerships announced this week are with Pfefferle Companies, Inc., which has offices in Apppleton, Green Bay and Wasau, Wisc.; Solomon Partners L.L.C., with offices in Bentonville and North Little Rock, Ark., and Marc C. Johnson, L.L.C., based in Fargo, N.D.

Now known as Newmark Grubb Pfefferle, it is led by CEO and Chairman John Pfefferle and President Mike Pfefferle. The 40-year-old firm is planning a new office in Madison, Wisc.

Newmark Grubb Arkansas is led by Principals Paul Esterer and J. Fletcher Hanson III, and focuses on office, industrial, retail and investment real estate. Home to Walmart, Arkansas has strong economic growth that is spurred by suppliers and logistics companies.

North Dakota has seen a recent boom in oil production. Newmark Grubb Johnson & Associates, led by President Marc Johnson, handles office, industrial, retail, land and investment properties in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is also expanding its presence in the Southeast by partnering with Wilson Kibler, a firm with offices in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Phoenix Realty Group in Jacksonville, Fla. Both are former Grubb & Ellis affiliates. The South Carolina firm becomes Newmark Grubb Wilson Kibler and the Florida firm will do business as Newmark Grubb Phoenix Realty Group.

“Their decision to join our growing company underscores their commitment to NGKF’s vision of providing the most comprehensive service model, and we are confident that by working together we can create unique opportunities for our clients,” Brett Hunsaker, regional managing director for NGKF’s Southeast region, said in a news release.

Led by Principals Jeremy G. Wilson and C. Marshall Kibler, Newmark Grubb Wilson Kibler is one of South Carolina’s largest full-service CRE companies. Services include tenant and buyer representation, project leasing, acquisition and disposition, property management, and consultation for office, retail, industrial and investment properties.

Newmark Grubb Phoenix Realty Group is led by Principals John Richardson and Jim Sebesta. The firm, which completed more than $136 million in brokerage transactions in 2012, provides brokerage and management services throughout northeast Florida.

Two months ago, NGKF also made other moves in the Southeast where it has a new partner,  Newmark Grubb Memphis in Tennessee led by founder and President Joe Steffner. The firm serves western Tennessee, northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas and has completed more than $500 million in deals since it opened in 2004.

Also in March, NGKF partnered with NAI West in Salt Lake City, a former affiliate of NAI Global and Utah’s largest commercial real estate services firm, giving it a dominant position in the Western region. Now known as Newmark GrubbACRES and led by founder partner and President Michael B. Falk, it has four offices. The firm focuses on tenant and landlord representation, property management, corporate services, land and investment sales for office, industrial and multi-family properties.