CORFAC News

Hollywood, FL (December 8, 2011) –CORFAC International (Corporate Facility Advisors) Executive Director Susan S. Newman announced today Hamburg, Germany-based Berendes & Partner Consulting GmbH and Milan, Italy-based IL PUNTO Real Estate Advisor have joined CORFAC International as new European affiliates of the commercial real estate organization.Berendes was founded in 1995 in Hamburg as an independent owner operated commercial real estate advisory company. Initially with a focus on the restructuring of surplus property stock for former state owned entities such as Deutsche Post, Berendes quickly developed into a group with six offices in all major commercial real estate markets in Germany and one in Poland serving corporate and institutional real estate requirements with brokerage and investment transactions, advisory, development and corporate finance services, and asset management. The group provides for both national and international clients services through all stages of the real estate lifecycle. Berendes is active in office, industrial and retail sectors of real estate. The group is led by Hans Ulrich Berendes, MRICS, CRE, SIOR Founder and CEO.IL PUNTO was incorporated in 1981 to serve the brokerage needs of a real estate development group in Italy, Switzerland and the USA. In 2007, IL PUNTO Real Estate Advisor was formed to provide integrated real estate services using highly qualified professionals – architects, accountants, lawyers, brokers, engineers. The firm primarily covers Northwest Italy, particularly the cities of Milan, Turin and Genoa, with brokerage services in the sectors of office, industrial, retail, investment and land sales. In addition, IL PUNTO serves Northeast Italy with a partnership in Venice and also provides valuation services throughout Italy. The company is managed by Partner Antonio Campagnoli, SIOR.U.S.-based CORFAC International is comprised of privately held entrepreneurial commercial real estate firms with expertise in office, industrial, retail, and multifamily properties, as well as corporate services and property management. Affiliation is by invitation only, and the real estate organization is actively adding new firms in Europe and Asia.CORFAC’s International Committee, headed by G. Raymond Lyons, SIOR, CCIM, MRICS (Thomas L. Johnson Realty/CORFAC International in Toronto, Canada), with Steven H. Podolsky, SIOR (Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International in Chicago, IL) and Jim Garibaldi (The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International in Chatham, NJ), are currently finalizing applications for affiliates in N. Ireland, Greece and China. Further, they are pursuing affiliates in the UK, Ireland, India and other countries.“We are thrilled to have attracted two highly qualified professional services firms to CORFAC International in Berendes & Partner and IL PUNTO Real Estate Advisor. We all share similar core values, including unsurpassed levels of accountability to clients and each other, and local market expertise,” said Susan Newman.Newman’s official tenure with CORFAC began Nov. 14. She was the Secretary General (chief executive officer) of the U.S. Chapter of FIABCI (FIABCI-USA) prior to accepting the leadership role at CORFAC. She was retained as the future CORFAC Executive Director in May this year and is currently serving as Co-Executive Director with Thomas P. Bennett, who has been CORFAC’s Executive Director for the past 12 years. Bennett is retiring at the end of the year, and Newman will become the Executive Director of CORFAC beginning in 2012.Newman is well acquainted with the two new international affiliates of CORFAC.Berendes and IL PUNTO are members of FIABCI – The International Real Estate Federation, based in Paris, France, with both “Ulli” Berendes and Antonio Campagnoli serving as governing board members.“CORFAC is for us the ideal international network leveraging our national presence with CORFAC’s international presence. CORFAC members share our same values, a commitment to open and honest communication combined with an in depth knowledge of the local real estate market and a focus on getting the jobs for our clients done,” said Berendes.In recent years, North American CORFAC firms have averaged 10,000 completed transactions annually encompassing nearly 1 billion square feet of commercial space and valued at more than $16 billion in lease and sale transactions, excluding advisory services and property management fees. CORFAC International was recently ranked by Commercial Property Executive, a New York publication, as a Top 2 Brokerage Network, while National Real Estate Investor recognized CORFAC last year as a Top 12 Brokerage Firm in the U.S.According to Campagnoli, affiliation with CORFAC International reflects a new strategic initiative for his firm.“A structured relationship with an established and respected U.S.-based real estate organization enhances our ability to serve clients in key markets outside of Italy and, at the same time, the affiliation with CORFAC will be a good business development tool by increasing the volume of referrals we receive here,” said Campagnoli.About CORFAC InternationalCORFAC International (Corporate Facility Advisors) is one of the largest commercial real estate services organizations in the world. Founded in 1989, U.S.-based CORFAC is comprised of privately held entrepreneurial firms with expertise in office, industrial and retail real estate leasing and investment sales, multifamily property acquisitions and dispositions, property management and corporate services in North America, with coverage in South America provided by Panama-based Latin American Corporate Property Services. A Principal Member of FIABCI – the International Real Estate Federation with global affiliates in Europe and Asia, CORFAC International offers commercial real estate services with market reach in 65 countries worldwide. For more information on CORFAC, contact 954-923-6160, info@corfac.com or visit www.corfac.com.