CBRE Forms Capital Markets Unit

White says that major investment clients these days are looking for "capital markets solutions" rather than separate sales and financing transactions. The new CBRE Capital Markets structure combines a CB Richard Ellis property sales business that executed more than $87.2 billion in transactions for 2004, along with a mortgage banking business that tallied $13.3 billion in loan originations in 2004.

The new structure also reflects the increasing globalization of real estate investment, which CBRE has participated in through efforts like its representation of CGI, a German pension fund, in its acquisition last year of a 50% interest in a Canadian shopping center portfolio for $453 million. In another deal, CBRE advised the Blackstone Group in the purchase of a mixed-use portfolio of properties from Deutsche Bank in nine European cities for $1.3 billion.

The new CBRE Capital Markets is headed by Houston-based Brian Stoffers, who will hold the title of president and will retain his role as executive managing director of L.J. Melody & Co., the CBRE mortgage banking subsidiary. Greg Vorwaller, based in Chicago, will continue as president of Investment Properties, coordinating the firm's worldwide investment sales activities. The CBRE Capital Markets international leaders are Stephen Hubbard and Jonathan Hull in Europe, Reid Mackay in Asia Pacific and Nick MacLean in the Middle East.