CBRE eats up Burgess Rawson
CBRE is buying smaller Melbourne-based, national commercial real estate agency rival Burgess Rawson.
The deal, speculated late last year to be worth as much as $30 million, will see the Burgess Rawson brand near cease in its 50th year.
Instead its chief executive officer, Ingrid Filmer, will lead CBRE’s Metropolitan Investments team.
The move, it is hoped, will see the US-based agency take a greater slice of the sub-$35m east coast high net worth investor segment, where Burgess Rawson has made inroads recently, especially with its bulk auction events.
Burgess Rawson offices in the ACT and Western Australia, which are independently owned, will retain the brand.
“[Burgess Rawson] manages transactions in a broad range of sectors including early education, convenience retail, fast food, healthcare, large format retail and service stations,” a spokesperson for the buyer said in a statement
“The acquisition will bring together CBRE’s and Burgess Rawson’s complementary strengths and resources to provide enhanced solutions for high-net-worth individuals, developers, owner-operators, REITs, syndicators and family offices,” they added.
Win-win: agents
Established in 1975 by Christopher Burgess and Gerald Rawson, Burgess Rawson was sold in stages in the decade to 2012 and is now held by six executives: Ms Filmer, Darren Beehag, Raoul Holderhead, Jamie Perlinger, Adam Thomas and Shaun Venables.
Across the offices which have sold – Brisbane, Melbourne, Mildura, Sydney and Townsville – it employs 80 people.
“[The agency] has spent five decades building deep trust with private investors and establishing a market – leading national platform,” Ms Filmer said.
“Joining CBRE – one of the most respected global real estate firms – gives us the scale, capability, and reach to elevate what we do best,” she added.
“This partnership allows us to connect our clients to international capital, world-class research, and broader market opportunities than ever before,” according to the executive.
CBRE Advisory Services chief executive officer, Phil Rowland, said the move allows it to “diversify into new asset types and markets, access strong leadership and broker talent and enhance its market position in what is a fragmented part of the investment sector”.
The deal should settle next month.
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