JLL adds 19-person team of tenant representation professionals in Houston

HOUSTON, April 6, 2021 – JLL today announced the addition of one of the largest and most successful tenant representation teams in Houston. The team was founded over 25 years ago and includes five of the last 10 NAIOP Houston Office Brokers of the Year and one Industrial Broker of the Year among its 17 licensed professionals. This addition will cement JLL’s market-leading office site selection practice in the region while expanding JLL’s industry expertise and client service across Texas and nationally.

The team includes many well-known real estate industry names: Brandon Clarke, Steve Hesse, Sanford Criner, Charles Gordon, Graham Horton, Matt Trozzo, Jeff Cairns, and Paul Penland among others. Charles Gordon, the team founder, is a national authority on corporate headquarter transactions and has received an impressive array of industry recognitions. The new-to-JLL team’s clients will benefit from JLL’s integrated global services platform including its deep resources and extensive broker network, cutting-edge technology tools and teamwork culture.

“This represents a union of industry leaders who will redefine client excellence in our region by working together,” said Dan Bellow, President for JLL’s Houston market. “Our combined talent will result in a powerful, cultural fit that will enhance our client service capabilities and increases our ability to identify opportunities for growth and win more business together.”

The integration comes at a critical time for the Houston market. While the pandemic has impacted the city’s office occupancy significantly, it has also accelerated the need for office brokerage strategists, who have weathered economic downturns and know that some of the best opportunities for corporations to relocate or upgrade their space is during the window just before the market rebounds.

“Certainly, 2020 was a tough year for the Houston office market generally,” said Brandon Clarke, Executive Managing Director, JLL. “However, our team looks at our clients’ real estate as a strategic asset and macroeconomic disruptions tend to create strategic opportunities if you know where to look. The breadth of our team’s skill sets – a CPA, two JD’s, a former EY consultant, and brokers with decades of experience – enables us to work with our clients to search their portfolios continuously for unlikely opportunities.”

Despite the tough transactional environment in 2020, the team renegotiated a 900,000 SF lease to create dramatic and immediate savings, refinanced a $340 million campus, restructured a 1.4 million square foot asset through a sale and 550,000 square foot leaseback, among many other transactions. 

“Now, with the last two quarters indicating that the broad scale rebound is already underway, it is truly is the perfect time for me, my partners, and our entire team to join JLL as we believe our combined expertise and cultural match will help all of us provide the highest level of service to our clients and the market,” Clarke concluded.

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