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What Really Happened at Cushman & Wakefield?

The Wall Street Journal offers a fascinating look at what really happened last week when Cushman & Wakefield CEO Glenn Rufrano stepped down. The Journal is offering the article to all readers - for now.

Below is an exerpt from the article. To read it in its entirety, click here.

Cushman's Ins and Outs

By —Peter Grant and Anjali Athavaley

The biggest question in New York's commercial real-estate industry last week was what was behind Cushman & Wakefield's surprise announcement that Glenn Rufrano was stepping down as chief executive.

Bloomberg News

While the company and Mr. Rufrano remain circumspect, the answer seems to reflect what's going on at Cushman's parent company, Exor SpAEXO.MI +2.84% of Italy, as much as it shows what's happening at the storied New York-based real-estate firm. Exor, a huge investment company that also owns a controlling stake in Fiat SpA,F.MI +1.34% acquired a 67.5% stake in Cushman for $563 million in 2006 and since then has increased its ownership to 72%.

Arthur Mirante II (Mireya Acierto/PatrickMcMullan) 

Up until last week, the relationship between Exor and Mr. Rufrano seemed to be solid. Exor hired Mr. Rufrano, a turnaround expert, to run Cushman & Wakefield in 2010 and backed him as he expanded the company globally. The parent company allowed Mr. Rufrano to reinvest profits along the way.

Bruce Mosler (Bloomberg News)

This strategy seems to have worked as the real-estate industry recovered from the downturn. Cushman had $79.1 million of operating income in 2012, up from $64.5 million in 2011, according to an Exor filing.

But Exor has other concerns besides Cushman. As these other pressures mounted, Exor called on Cushman to pay the parent dividends rather than reinvesting the money into the business. That set the stage for Mr. Rufrano's departure.

The parent's biggest concern lately has been Fiat's desire to purchase the 41.5% stake it doesn't already own in Chrysler Group LLC. Indeed, Fiat suspended its dividend earlier this year partly because it wanted to conserve cash.

Exor itself has been raising cash partly by selling assets. For example, earlier this month, Exor said it was selling its 15% stake in Swiss inspection company SGS SA for $2.6 billion.

As far as Cushman goes, it started paying Exor a dividend this year. Exor pointed out in a statement that a large amount of the company's earnings over the last three years has been "re-invested in the business" and that Exor expects "rigorous capital discipline" from the management teams of its companies.

But some might argue that Cushman can't afford to pay Exor dividends in today's competitive environment. Despite its progress, Cushman still has a long way to go to close the gap globally with rivals CBRE Group Inc. CBG +0.31% and Jones Lang LaSalle JLL +0.10% .

Indeed, analysts say CBRE and Jones Lang have been growing faster than Cushman because they have larger presences around the world. They've also done well at building businesses that aren't dependent on sales and leasing commissions.

"In 2012, Cushman didn't grow as quickly partly because of the greater global bandwidth of those two organizations," says William Marks, an analyst who follows real-estate companies for JMP Securities JMP +0.93% .

For the rest of the story, click here.

Memorial Service at 2 p.m. Thursday for Atlanta #CRE Great Who Died After Fall

Update on memorial: BEEBE, Marshall Marshall Jones "Skip" Beebe of Atlanta died November 7, 2011. A memorial service will be held Thursday, November 10 at 2 o'clock at All Saints Episcopal Church. Online condolences may be made at hmpattersonspringhill.com. 

ATLANTA (Nov. 8, 2011) - Atlanta's commercial real estate community lost one of its finest members today as Skip Beebe, who led CBRE's Atlanta office and Eastern Division for several years, died due to complications from a fall Monday night in Atlanta.

Beebe, who most recently served as CBRE's Chief Learning Officer, was remembered today as a smart, kind person and mentor with the strength to lead CBRE's vital Eastern Division as the company grew into one of the world's largest commercial real estate companies.

In July 1999, Los Angeles-based CBRE completed a reorganization that included moving its Eastern Division HQ to Atlanta and namong Beebe as its leader. "A huge part of the strength of the company is along the East Coast, and now we have an organization that will allow us to take full advantage of it," Beebe told me during an interview.

Beebe also served as the Ledbetter Professor of the Practice of Real Estate Development at Georgia Tech.

Many attendees of the CoreNet Global Fall Summit, which wrapped up today, shared memories of Skip. Here's what CBRE CEO Brett White said in a memo to CBRE's employees around the world.

 

Date: November 8, 2011

To: Global Employees

From: Brett White

Subject: Skip Beebe

CBRE, Inc.

www.cbre.com

 

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of our longtime friend and retired colleague, Skip Beebe.  Skip passed away suddenly last night due to complications from a fall.   

Skip spent 14 years at CBRE before his retirement in 2007.  He touched many lives and influenced many careers here—as the leader of our Atlanta office; President of the Eastern Division and most recently, as our Chief Learning Officer. Since his retirement, Skip remained a positive influence at CBRE, serving as a mentor and counselor to many of our people and a popular instructor at CBRE University. 

Skip will always be remembered as the quintessential CBRE professional, who upheld our RISE values daily and drew the most professional satisfaction from helping others to grow, succeed and prosper.  The entire CBRE community mourns his untimely passing.

We will provide details about services as soon as they are available.  In the meantime, please join me in keeping his wife, Anne, and his family in your thoughts.

 

Atlanta Real Estate Community, Cushman & Wakefield Lose Stalwart Broker

ATLANTA (Aug. 10, 2011) - Atlanta's commercial real estate industry once again is mourning the loss of one of its own this week.

Larry Orr, 50, an expert apartment investment sales broker, died Monday at Piedmont Hospital. Orr worked at The Apartment Group, which Cushman & Wakefield acquired in 2001. Orr also worked at Sharp Boylston Cos. and Julian LeCraw and Co. Orr's name remains on Cushman & Wakefield's national apartment brokerage webpage, and it should as a sign of respect to the apartment sales guru.

Cushman & Wakefield credits Orr with playing a "crucial role in the national expansion of the C&W multifamily investment sales division."

During his career, the University of Georgia alum set records for the highest volume of multifamily sales in several years. His partners at Cushman & Wakefield The Apartment Group included Evan Jennings, who lost his battle with brain cancer last year at 65, and Chris Spain.

The family request those wishing to honor Larry's life, send donations to Piedmont Hospital, Inc. for the Orr Brain Tumor Navigator Fund. Gifts can be sent to Piedmont Healthcare Foundation, Inc., Attention: Leshandra Armour, 1968 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30309.

Here's the paid death notice for Lawrence Orr.

  |   Visit Guest Book

Family-Placed Death Notice

ORR, Lawrence LAWRENCE (LARRY) C. ORR Lawrence (Larry) Cameron Orr of Atlanta died on August 8, 2011 at the age of 50. Born May 14, 1961 at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Mr. Orr remained a life-long resident of Atlanta where he attended The Westminster Schools, The Lovett School, and graduated from Brandon Hall School in 1980. He obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia in 1986. After beginning his career in chemical sales, Mr. Orr went on to find his niche in the commercial real estate business, working for The Sharp Boylston Companies and then Julian LeCraw and Company where he sold many types of commercial properties. Eventually he joined The Apartment Group, Inc. of Atlanta, exclusively selling commercial apartment communities. The Apartment Group was bought by real estate giant Cushman and Wakefield, where he worked until the end of his career. Throughout the years, Mr. Orr was consistently a top producer in his company and in the Southeast, setting records with his business partner for sales volume on several different occasions. In addition to being an avid golfer and member of Cherokee Town and Country Club, Mr. Orr loved to hunt and fish with his family and close friends. He was a volunteer and financial supporter of many local and regional organizations, including Trinity Community Ministries, MARR of Atlanta, 100 x Missions, the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children, and Pace Academy. Most recently, he and his wife supported an effort to hire a Brain Tumor Clinical Coordinator at Piedmont Hospital, and efforts to establish a Brain Tumor Center at Piedmont continue. Mr. Orr is survived by his wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Brady Orr and children Corinne Covington Orr and Kyle Cameron Orr; mother Cornelia Cameron Orr; brother Joseph K. Orr IV and wife Nancy; brother David C. Sasseman and wife Anne; brother James G. Sasseman; niece Kyle Orr Hinson, husband John, and daughter Frances Bradley; nephew Joseph (Jake) K. Orr V; niece Alex Sasseman; and mother-in-law Elizabeth (Betsy) Covington Brady. A visitation will be held at H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill, 1020 Spring Street N.W. on Thursday, the eleventh day of August from five o'clock until seven o'clock in the evening. The funeral will be held at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Road N.E. on Friday, the twelfth day of August at ten o'clock in the morning followed by a reception at the Cathedral. Interment will be held at Westview Cemetery on Friday at one o'clock in the afternoon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Piedmont Hospital, Inc. for the Orr Brain Tumor Navigator Fund. Gifts may be mailed to: Piedmont Healthcare Foundation, Inc., Attention: Leshandra Armour, 1968 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30309. Online condolences may be made at hmpattersonspringhill.com. 

 

Wilbert News Strategies Leases HQ Space in Atlanta

By Tony Wilbert

ATLANTA (May 3, 2011) - After writing about thousands of companies signing more than 10,000 office leases, I realized this spring it finally was time for me to sign a lease of my own.

Earlier this spring Wilbert News Strategies leased its first office space for the firm's headquarters. Our 1,832-square-foot lease at Peachtree 25th on the southern edge of Buckhead isn't large compared with recent six-figure deals signed in Atlanta, but for WNS it's a big step.

Wilbert News Strategies is a public relations, communications and social media firm. While we're proud to be considered a top real estate communications firm, we have clients in a a wide spectrum of industries including beverages, legal, hospitality, construction and wealth management.

On Saturday, Caroline and I celebrated our firm's lease with our tenant rep and his wife at Bone's. Today, we erected our logo on the wall to make it official.

When we started Wilbert News Strategies, our largest client, Carter, let us set up shop at its headquarters at 171 17th St. in Atlantic Station. It was a great set up and enabled the firm to grow quickly. Grow we did - to the point where we needed a space of our own. (Of course, WNS owes a big thank you to all Carter associates, especially President Scott Taylor, for helping make our launch possible two years ago. Carter remains our largest client, and we are honored to work for the company.)

When it came time to search for space, no doubt existed about whether to use a commercial Realtor. We asked Dale Lewis, a friend and Carter broker, to be our broker and assist us in our search. We toured several cool spaces and reconnected with old friends and sources as they toured us through their buildings.

We picked an office building in Midtown as our favorite, but we could not come to terms with the landlord. While we had a general idea of how much office space we desired, we had a much firmer idea of how much we could spend each month.

This led us to take a look at Peachtree 25th, a 10-story office tower in the Brookwood micro-market that we had not considered during Round 1. We checked out a couple spaces in the complex and then toured the space on the 10th floor that would become our new corporate home.

The owner of Peachtree 25th, Atlanta Property Group, did a great job working with us on getting a lease done. We signed a 5.5-year lease and moved into the top-floor space in March.

Since we moved in, we've only had one tenant rep cold call us in person (despite building policy allowing no solitication). We told him we are more than happy with Dale and Carter - and about not having to think about our office search for several years.

 

 

 

Outbid for Campanile, Cousins Still in Mix

ATLANTA (July 15, 2010) - Cousins Properties might have been outbid in the Chase for Campanile, but it's likely not out of the deal.

 While the Atlanta REIT isn't expected to buy the 20-story tower at Midtown's highest-profile corner (Peachtree & 14th), Cousins could play a role in helping the winning bidder finance the deal. For Cousins, involvement on the financing side practically would guarantee it leasing and management fees. And those types of fees help REITs meet critical FFO (funds from operations) numbers.

For its part, Cousins declined to comment about whether it bid for or is helping finance the deal for Campanile, at left. WNS took this photo July 18.

As for the favorite among bidders, the buzz this week is that Atlanta's own Brookdale Group could emerge as the new owner of the former BellSouth headquarters building. (Campanile is an Italian term that means "bell tower.") Brookdale could use its current fund, Brookdale Investors Six LP, which plans to invest $850 million in Class A office building, to pick up Campanile. The Buckhead firm might even have a tenant (think law firm with the initials MMM).

Word on pricing is that the winning group will pay $70 to $75 a foot, well below the $200 a foot replacement cost. So even at 15 percent occupancy, the building is a great deal.

During this slow summer, the Chase for Campanile is the hottest story going. 

Hunsaker Takes Reins of Grubb & Ellis Atlanta

ATLANTA (Feb. 24, 2010) - It's nice to see Brett Hunsaker back at the helm of a brokerage shop in Atlanta. Yesterday, Grubb & Ellis announced that Hunsaker, one of Atlanta's best-known personalities, has been named executive vice president and managing director of its Atlanta operations.

The position opened up last month when Steve Dils split to open the Atlanta office of Canadian commercial real estate powerhouse Avison Young. At that point, several people speculated that Hunsaker would replace Dils, and they were right.

In May 2008, Hunsaker shook up Atlanta's brokerage community when he left CB Richard Ellis for a national business development position at Grubb. 

Here's the official release from Grubb headquarters.

Brett Hunsaker Assumes Responsibility for Grubb & Ellis Company’s Atlanta Operations

SANTA ANA, Calif. (Feb. 23, 2010) -- Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that Brett Hunsaker has been named executive vice president and managing director of the company’s Atlanta office. 

Hunsaker, 50, joined Grubb & Ellis in 2008 as executive vice president, Business Development, responsible for overseeing the company’s business development, marketing and training programs for its Real Estate Services business.  In his new role, he will be responsible for the company’s Atlanta-area Real Estate Services operations.

“Brett is undoubtedly one of the most respected commercial real estate professionals in the Atlanta area,” said Jack Van Berkel, chief operating officer and president, Real Estate Services.  “His deep relationships within the Atlanta commercial real estate community, incredible track record and proven ability to lead will greatly support our continued success in this market.  I’m pleased he has taken on this role.”

Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Hunsaker was senior managing director at CB Richard Ellis, where he served as one of the company’s market leaders and head of its ownership services business in Atlanta.  During his tenure, he was responsible for more than 50 property management, agency brokerage and investment sales producers.

“Grubb & Ellis has significantly enhanced its platform to better support its individual offices and brokers, making this an exciting time to take on a market leader role,” said Hunsaker.  “I look forward to working with the exceptional brokerage team and staff we have here in the Atlanta office to increase our visibility and market share in the region.”

Hunsaker is the immediate past president of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors and founder of Meet At, a commercial real estate networking group. He also was one of the founders of Real Estate Group of Atlanta, whose membership draws from all business sectors of the commercial real estate industry.  Hunsaker holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University.