Christopher Marchbanks, a principal in CRESA Partners/Austintold GlobeSt.com that the merger is a significant step in thecompany's overall growth plan. "It strengthens our ability to servelocal Austin clients while enabling us to service a greater numberof clients on a national and international basis," he said.

"With our enhanced services and increased national presence, weplan to double our size in the next year as we significantly growour client base and attract new professionals to our team."TheVanguard Co. joined the CRESA Alliance, one of North America'slargest associations of corporate real estate advisory firms thatspecialize in corporate services and tenant representation, in1997. All individual Alliance offices retain their own identity andidentify themselves as a CRESA member. CRESA Partners is a nationalfirm focusing on tenant representation and corporate services. Ithas 12 offices across the nation but is considered to be onecompany.

Michael Dow, president and CEO of CRESA Partners LLC said theVanguard Co./CRESA fits the profile of a CRESA Partners firmbecause of its aggressive growth plan and specialization in tenantrepresentation and corporate services.