Swearingen, Laughlin: One Deal Down, More Coming

"We get in there early before a property gets shopped by the big companies," Wayne B. Swearingen, president of Barclay Commercial Group Inc., explains to GlobeSt.com. He and longtime friend and Dallas business associate, C. King Laughlin, president of the King Laughlin Co. Inc., just closed a $16-million sale for Ericsson Inc. It took two years of massaging buyers, seller and tough bargaining table stances. Ericsson gets a taker for its 195,000-sf, 10-story office building at 740 E. Campbell Rd. in Richardson's Telecom Corridor and the buyer gets a tenant–Ericsson–for 51,000 sf in a new five-year lease.

The Ericsson closing didn't come easy. The first contract fell through. So, Swearingen and Laughlin knocked on the most logical door: the next-door neighbor. Skyrise Properties Inc., a local investment group led by Moishe Azoulay, said "maybe" and then said "yes" in hard-line negotiations for the office tower, eight-story parking garage and 12.38 acres of extra developable land, with entitlements in place for high-density office, retail and hotel projects. Skyrise now owns 25 acres at the crossroads of North Central Expressway and Campbell Road.

The Ericsson deal is just the beginning, Swearingen professes. He says they have six more in the hopper for DFW and "more than that" inside and outside the state. And that's all he's saying for now, other than one investor is a DFW newcomer and the target market is office. It's not about listings; it's about matching the money to the bricks. And, they're using their longstanding business relationships to successfully dicker their way to the bargaining table on behalf of a roster of investor clients.

Time, it will take time. "There aren't any fast deals anymore," Swearingen says. "There is plenty of capital out there, but they (investors) don't know where to find the right deals." He's not shopping for fire sales. In fact, he says there won't be any in the region. But, there are buildings for sale and owners "will have to drop the prices" to more realistic levels, he contends.

Swearingen and Laughlin have a combined 75 years in the business in the region. They lead their own companies and don't intend to stop because they've taken up this sideline. "We have an alliance. We have breakfast every morning and we plan the day," says Swearingen. He's playing the duo's next deal close to the cuff for now, not saying when it will close, where it will close but confident that it will close.