Avison Young acquires Dallas-based tenant representation firm Dillon Corporate Services/Cresa Dallas, 40 members join

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Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Oct 01, 2013, 10:00 ET

Purchase strengthens Avison Young's business-line coverage in Texas; Greg Langston becomes Managing Director

TORONTO, Oct. 1, 2013 /CNW/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today that it has acquired Dallas, TX-based commercial real estate firm Dillon Corporate Services, Inc. (doing business as Cresa Dallas) in an asset sale.

The purchase further expands Avison Young's business-line coverage in Texas. The change in ownership adds 40 employees to Avison Young's Dallas operations.

Effective immediately, Dillon Corporate Services founders Greg Langston and Terry Quinn, along with Mike McElwee, Art Green, Curt Linn, Kevin Smith, Buddy Turner, Brian Whittington, David Cooke, Bret Hefton and Jim Louis, become Principals of Avison Young.

Langston also becomes Managing Director of the Dallas office and will be responsible for growing a full-service commercial real estate platform in Dallas through recruitment and acquisition. He will also manage the day-to-day operations of the office and service new and existing clients. McElwee will be responsible for the management and oversight of enterprise solutions clients, and Louis will head project management in Dallas.

"The acquisition of Dillon Corporate Services gives Avison Young a significant presence in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, which is a core region for our company's long-term growth as a global service provider," comments Rose. "Dillon is considered one of the top commercial real estate brokerage firms in Dallas/Fort Worth, and the company's strong skill set in providing corporate clients with transaction and advisory services on a local and multi-market basis gels nicely with Avison Young's solutions-oriented approach to solving clients' real estate problems. We couldn't be more pleased to have Greg Langston, Terry Quinn and their team on board."

Rose continues: "Dillon and Avison Young are a perfect fit culturally, which was apparent from our very first discussions. Greg, Terry and their team fully embrace Avison Young's culture of being a Principal-owned and managed company. It speaks volumes that 11 professionals from Dillon are joining Avison Young as Principals."

Founded in 1993, Dillon Corporate Services, a locally-owned company that exclusively represents tenants, has been the affiliate of Cresa serving the Dallas/Fort Worth market for the past 12 years. Dillon Corporate Services has represented clients with requirements and portfolios ranging from 5,000 square feet (sf) locally to 12 million square feet (msf) globally.

"We are thrilled to have the Dillon group join Avison Young as we continue to build our business in the Texas region. Avison Young has a great office in Houston, and with the addition of Greg, Terry and the entire Dillon team in Dallas/Fort Worth, we are now well established in Texas," states Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "Going forward, we will continue to add people in both offices to bolster our service lines, and look to expand into other Texas markets in the near future."

Also joining from Dillon Corporate Services are: Susan Blair, Senior Vice-President; Patrick Denney, Senior Vice-President; Mike McCoy, Senior Vice-President; Judge McStay, Senior Vice-President; Matt Middendorf, Senior Vice-President; Eddie Tillman, Senior Vice-President; Michael England, Vice-President; Kara Good, Vice-President; Parker Handlin, Vice-President; Tamia Kramer, Vice-President; Pat McCaffrey, Vice-President; Nancy McGrath, Vice-President; Kim Phillips-White, Vice-President; Michael Swanson, Vice-President; Scott Jones, Operations Manager; Andy Schenck, Senior Associate; Dyann Skelton, Senior Associate; Joe Agnew, Associate; James Engels, Associate; Michael Morse, Associate; Amanda Steiner, Property Manager; Stephanie Wiechmann, Project Manager; Matt Gamble, Lease Administrator; Olivia Kramer, Lease Administrator; Nancy Connelly, Client Services Coordinator; Kathryn Young, Client Services Coordinator; Misty Davis, Research Analyst; Teri Rath, Administrative Coordinator; and Suzann Holcomb, Accounting Clerk.

Avison Young opened its first Texas office in Houston in June 2010 with Rand Stephens joining as Principal and Managing Director. The company opened its Dallas office in July 2011.

According to Stephens: "Dillon Corporate Services has deep ties in Dallas/Fort Worth, and having this team join us is a major brand-elevating event for Avison Young. With Avison Young's resources behind them, Greg and team will be able to grow dramatically and build a full-service diversified business in the region. Greg, Terry Quinn and Mike McElwee have done a great job of building and managing Dillon during its 20-year history. Avison Young's plan is to support them with a culture-rich environment that has made us the fastest-growing commercial real estate company in the world."

Over the past four-and-a-half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 53 offices and from 300 to more than 1,300 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S.

"There is tremendous synergy between our company's cultures, and it was obvious to all of us from our first meeting that we were a great fit," says Langston. "In addition, Terry, Mike and I believed that being part of a full-service global firm was in the long-term best interest of our clients and our employees. We look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues across North America and providing our clients with unmatched capabilities."

"Avison Young's transparent and client-centric culture is in complete alignment with our clients' and our team's culture," adds Quinn. "Our clients' input was a key driver in our decision to become part of the Avison Young family, as our clients have consistently been asking us to deliver the full range of services that Avison Young offers."

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening offices on Long Island, NY and in Tampa FL, Greenville SC, and Philadelphia PA in the past six weeks.

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Biographies

Greg Langston
A founding member of Dillon Corporate Services' Dallas, Birmingham and Fort Worth offices, Greg Langston brings to Avison Young 23 years of commercial real estate consulting experience with a multi-billion dollar transactional value. Langston's experience includes advising, managing and negotiating corporate office and industrial leases, build-to-suits, building sales/dispositions, land sales/acquisitions and project management assignments throughout North America.

Terry Quinn
Terry Quinn is a founding member of Dillon Corporate Services' Dallas, Birmingham and Fort Worth offices. A 25-year industry veteran, he has been involved in transactions valued in excess of $4 billion during his career. Prior to founding Cresa Dallas in 1993, Quinn worked for Trammell Crow Company and Arthur Andersen. Quinn's experience includes advising, managing and negotiating corporate office and industrial leases, build-to-suits, building sales/dispositions, land sales/acquisitions, development, sale/leasebacks, and acquisition of investment and user real estate.

Mike McElwee
Mike McElwee brings a wealth of real estate experience to Avison Young, having completed a myriad of corporate representation assignments nationwide. His transaction experience includes managing and negotiating office and industrial leases, building sales/purchases, build-to-suit projects, site selection and business incentives.

Art Green
Art Green has more than 25 years of experience representing commercial real estate tenants, having managed more than 7 msf of transactions during his career. With an emphasis on creating and implementing comprehensive strategic plans that align real estate to clients' businesses, Green helps companies across a broad spectrum of industries reduce costs through intelligent real estate transactions.

Curt Linn
Curt Linn has been involved in negotiating office and industrial real estate leases since 1980. In the early part of his career, he represented both tenants and landlords, which gives him a unique perspective on how landlords think and negotiate, enabling him to be most effective in representing tenants, which he has done exclusively since 1990.

David Cooke
David Cooke has more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of commercial real estate specialties, which include development, call centers, and the acquisition and disposition of office, retail, industrial and land. With this diversified background, Cooke has been able to generate measurable economic savings and optimum operational efficiencies for his clients on both a regional and national basis.

Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith has 30 years of experience in the real estate business, and has also been a Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) since 1994. He has provided corporate real estate services as a national account manager for multiple corporations, including NationStar Mortgage, Health Management Associates, AmSurg, DSI Renal, LHP and FedEx.

Buddy Turner
Buddy Turner has been in the real estate industry since 1988, representing local and national clients such as MasterBrand, Lonestar Plastics, Balcones Recycling, US Oncology, Cooper Industries, Briggs & Stratton, SRS Distribution and Ingersoll Rand. Turner's real estate experience includes industrial, office and other real estate transactions. Prior to his real estate career, he spent 10 years in the construction industry, which has proved to be very valuable in assessing the costs associated with real estate projects.

Brian Whittington
Brian Whittington brings extensive sales and service expertise to Avison Young from a number of positions held during his professional career. As a Principal at Cresa Dallas, he focused on the Far North Dallas/Tollway Corridor area for 13 years. Whittington attended Richland College and studied business management. He also played professional soccer from 1992 to 1994 for the Dallas Lightning, a team in the league formerly known as the United States Inter-Regional Soccer League (USISL).

Jim Louis
While at Cresa Dallas, Jim Louis was responsible for the development and delivery of project-management services that were integrated into, or offered independent of, a transaction. Prior to Cresa, Louis spent eight years in property management for institutional clients managing portfolios with a focus to reposition them in the market. Louis has an MBA, as well as a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Land Planning, from Texas A&M University, where he worked for 11 years with corporate clients including JCPenney, Sears, EDS and Dr. Pepper.

Bret Hefton
Over the last 10 years, Bret Hefton has been dedicated to representing corporate, regional and local tenants, completing transactions totaling in excess of $300 million. During his career, Hefton has developed a thorough understanding of the real estate market and subsequently provides value to his clients through negotiating office and industrial leases, building sales/purchases, and subleases/dispositions.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,300 real estate professionals in 53 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young:
604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959

• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028

• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610

• Rand Stephens, Principal and Managing Director, Houston, Avison Young: 713.993.7810

• Greg Langston, Principal and Managing Director, Dallas, Avison Young: 214.269.3115

Avison Young's Dallas office is located at 5910 North Central Expressway, Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75206

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and requalified in 2012 to maintain its status as a Best Managed company.

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For industry news, press releases and market reports: www.twitter.com/avisonyoung
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SOURCE: Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Media Relations:
Sherry Quan
604.647.5098 or 604.726.0959
[email protected]

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