SRS Real Estate Partners and Cresa, the nation’s largest tenant-rep firm, have formed a strategic partnership to broaden their services. The agreement has Cresa acting as the office and industrial execution arm of Dallas-based SRS, and SRS overseeing retail initiatives for Cresa.
SRS was founded by Chris Maguire in 1986 as Staubach Retail Services. After Staubach was acquired by Jones Lang LaSalle in 2008, the retail group was spun out as a separate company (SRS). Since then, it had been referring office and industrial business mainly to former Staubach colleagues at JLL, Maguire said.
“It became apparent to us that we needed a more structured agreement,” he said. “We talked to a number of firms. We liked that Cresa was tenant-rep only and had 55 offices around the country. And they were willing to do what was critical to us—sign an exclusive arrangement.”
It didn’t hurt that Cresa’s new CEO, Jim Leslie, has a strong Staubach pedigree, having served as longtime president of the company before departing in 2002.
“It’s a great fit,” Leslie said. “It will make us both more effective, as we can now provide seamless execution and services along all the different product lines. It will give each of the groups more strength as we go out and pitch what we’re capable of doing.”
Both firms will retain their brand names. Some services handled by both companies, such as lease administration, for example, may eventually be combined, Leslie said.
Cresa has about 800 employees in its 55 offices; SRS has 25 offices and 275 employees.
SRS is aggressively recruiting and hopes to add 30 to 40 professionals in the next 12 months, Maguire said. It’s especially looking for an investment sales team in Dallas. SRS already has a presence in most major cities, but will consider opening in new locations if it finds the right professionals. The largest retail real estate firm in the country, SRS focuses on brokerage, corporate services, development, investment sales, and management services at the local, regional, and national level.
Cresa focuses exclusively on tenant services, ranging from transaction management and project management to strategic planning. It’s based in Boston. (For additional details, see Conversation With: Jim Leslie.)