C&W Hires Industry Star to Create Dominant Investment Sales Group in Houston

3 Apr, 2009, Houston, TX

Darrell L. Betts, one of the most experienced commercial real estate sales professionals in the Southwest United States and among the industry's most accomplished over the past decade, has joined Cushman & Wakefield's Capital Markets Group as an Executive Director, based in Houston. Mr. Betts was previously chief investment officer of Thompson National Properties and President of its Middle East fund. In 2007, prior to joining Thompson National Properties, he led the top producing team nationwide at Grubb & Ellis, where he served as senior vice president of the firm's Institutional Investment Group.

"We are very pleased to welcome Darrell and his team to Cushman & Wakefield in Houston," said Scott Wegmann, executive vice president and co-regional manager for Cushman & Wakefield in Houston. "We anticipate tremendous synergies between the experience and specialized expertise Darrell has, and what our existing Capital Markets Group professionals provide our clients here in Texas and throughout the U.S."

Tim Relyea, vice chairman and co-regional manager, said, "Darrell has built a wide range of experience in all aspects of institutional sales and acquisitions that will be extremely beneficial to our clients to address challenges and identify opportunities in the current investment environment."

The addition of the Betts team adds even more depth to what is already considered one of the premier commercial real estate firms in Houston. In 2008, Cushman & Wakefield's Houston office boasted eight professionals on its annual list of Top 100 professionals in the nation, including its No.1 professional in the U.S., Mr. Relyea. In 2007, vice chairman Lou Cushman and Mr. Relyea were ranked first and second, respectively, among the firm's office leasing professionals worldwide.

At Cushman & Wakefield, Mr. Betts will work closely with the Houston office's existing Capital Markets Group professionals, including David Chuoke, a senior director with 23 years of office transaction experience, 19 years of which have been at Cushman & Wakefield. Notable office building transactions Mr. Chuoke has completed include the 51-story, 1.2-million-square-foot Chevron Tower; the 55-story 1.3-million-square-foot 1100 Louisiana building, and the 1.5-million-square-foot BMC Software complex, also known as 2101 CityWest Boulevard. Cushman & Wakefield's Houston based Capital Markets Group is also active in the sale of multifamily assets, with a team led by Ed Nwokedi, Director.

"Bringing Darrell into our U.S. Capital Markets platform is part of our focus on attracting the industry's premier talent in major markets and delivering the highest level of service to our clients," said Keith Misner, executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield's Capital Markets Group and co-head of U.S. Investment Sales.

"The combination of Darrell's expertise and our existing Capital Markets talent will put us at a distinct advantage as far as our ability to handle the full range of investment needs for our clients," Mr. Misner added.

"Cushman & Wakefield has built the premier international, full-service real estate platform," said Mr. Betts. "The company's reputation and focus on fielding the industry's premier talent around the world will allow my team to deliver our clients the highest quality of service and to interact and transact with global investors in what has truly become a global marketplace today."

Throughout his 22-year career, Mr. Betts has been involved in more than $5 billion in real estate transactions. From 2001 to 2008, his team completed more than 130 investment sales throughout the Southwest, including some of the most recognized office buildings and assets in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

At Thompson National Properties, Mr. Betts acquired more than $150 million in real estate assets over the past 10 months. While with Grubb & Ellis, specializing in institutional quality assets, he was ranked every year for 10 years among the firm's top brokers nationally and served on the company's board of the U.S. Institutional Investment Group. In addition, Mr. Betts has been consistently recognized as one of the top power brokers ranked by the Houston Business Journal for a decade.

Cushman & Wakefield is recognized in the United States and globally for its involvement in many of the most prominent commercial real estate transactions in any given year. Over the past three years, examples of Cushman & Wakefield's Capital Markets Group assignments include the sales of 666 Fifth Avenue and 200 Park Avenue in New York, the sales of Murdock Plaza and the William Morris Agency headquarters in Los Angeles, and the sale of One Federal in Boston. Most recently, the company represented The New York Times Company in its $225 million sale-leaseback of 21 floors in its New York headquarters. The value of the firm's global investment transactions over the last three years totals $144 billion.

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Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm. Founded in 1917, it has 230 offices in 58 countries and 15,000 employees. The firm represents a diverse customer base ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. It offers a complete range of services within four primary disciplines: Transaction Services, including tenant and landlord representation in office, industrial and retail real estate; Capital Markets, including property sales, investment management, valuation services, investment banking, debt and equity financing; Client Solutions, including integrated real estate strategies for large corporations and property owners; and Consulting Services, including business and real estate consulting. A recognized leader in global real estate research, the firm publishes a broad array of proprietary reports available on its online Knowledge Center at www.cushmanwakefield.com/knowledge.

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