The San Gabriel Valley office will transition to Inland Empire, while the Century City office will be combined with the Downtown Los Angeles branch.

Colliers is a partnership of independent companies, and Colliers Macaulay Nicolls is the largest member of Colliers International, operating 146 offices in 36 countries, with 26 offices in the US. Following the consolidation, CMN will have offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Commerce, the Inland Empire, Orange County, the San Fernando Valley, the South Bay, Valencia and Victorville. The company has approximately 110 brokers in its Southern California offices.

Chichester tells GlobeSt.com that although the consolidation from 10 to eight offices is partly a response to changing market conditions, it is also one of the final steps in integrating of the former Colliers Seeley organization into CMN. In late 2005 CMN acquired Colliers Seeley, which at the time operated 12 offices in Southern California, and subsequently consolidated the 12 into nine locations before adding a 10th office, in Victorville.

When asked if the consolidation is related to the rumored merger of Colliers with GVA Williams, Chichester commented, "We don't speculate or comment on rumors, but I will say that the restructuring in L.A. is specific to the Los Angeles business." Chichester explains that the Southern California restructuring is designed to improve operations so that the firm can provide greater value and support for its professionals, in turn enabling them to provide a higher level of service to clients.

As Chichester stated in the company's announcement of the consolidation, "We are right-sizing our business in the Los Angeles market to build our depth, brand and growth in the region. Our clients will see a greater focus and specialization on their specific business, property, product and market needs."

Chichester says that the "Why" behind the consolidation is "the commitment to providing the best of support and solutions for our clients." He points out that Colliers is strongly committed to a client-focused strategy that it has been pursuing with the formation of a host of specialized services groups, each designed to meet the needs of a specific class of clients, and through Colliers' partnerships with groups like Cohen Financial, PGP Valuation and the project management group MHPM.

Among the newest of the specialized services groups—which already include groups focused on occupier services, landlord services, capital markets and many others--is Urban Landlord Partners. As reported recently on GlobeSt.com, ULP is a specialized practice team focused exclusively on serving the needs of institutional landlords in metropolitan downtown markets.

Like the formation of such specialty practice groups, Chichester says, the CMN consolidation in the L.A. area will enable the firm to sharpen its focus on client services. "Greater Los Angeles is one of our largest US markets, and we are focused on growing our business in this region in a more efficient manner, with the emphasis on service," he says.

Instant Insights /

Colliers International Consolidates in SoCal

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