Cushman & Wakefield Creates JV with NorthMarq Real Estate Services in Minnesota

21 Sep, 2011, Minneapolis, Minn.

NorthMarq Real Estate Services and Cushman & Wakefield have reached agreement to merge their operations in Minnesota. The new joint venture, which will operate as Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services, is expected to close on Sept. 30, 2011.

The new organization will combine employees from Cushman & Wakefield's Minnesota office and NorthMarq Real Estate Services. With more than 500 employees, Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services will be one of the largest firms of its kind in the U.S. The combined team will become the region's largest property and facility management firm, with more than 55 million sq. ft. of properties under management in the region, as well as the region's largest brokerage company, with more than 80 brokerage professionals.

The joint venture will enable Northmarq Real Estate Services to provide a full array of strategic real estate solutions to its clients by leveraging Cushman & Wakefield's global platform, and will provide immediate scale to Cushman & Wakefield in Minnesota. NorthMarq Real Estate Services will be the venture's majority partner.

Jeff Eaton, president-NorthMarq Real Estate Services, will lead the new venture. "The creation of this joint venture supports the long-term strategic plan we launched in 2008," he said. "We've looked at a number of ways to grow our business, and determined that partnering with a global platform of Cushman & Wakefield's stature was the ideal strategic fit.

"This unique shared ownership structure creates strong alignment of interests between the companies and allows full access to corporate resources. We are excited about the benefits this partnership allows our employees as well as investor and corporate clients," said Eaton.

Cushman & Wakefield, which was founded in New York in 1917 and operates more than 230 offices worldwide, has had a presence in Minnesota since 2002 under the leadership of Clint Miller. Miller will join the newly merged operation as a member of the senior leadership team.

"Our focus is on providing clients comprehensive, high quality service for the markets in which we operate," said Jim Underhill, Cushman & Wakefield's CEO for the Americas. "Forging this joint venture with NorthMarq provides us with immediate scale and scope in Minnesota. The exceptional talent will benefit our clients and be a great fit for our firm from day one."

NorthMarq Real Estate Services is part of Marquette Real Estate Group, which is owned by the Pohlad Family of Companies. Related company NorthMarq Capital is not part of the joint venture and will continue to independently operate its commercial mortgage banking business nationally.

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