Pegasus' 500,000-SF Contract Seeds GLV Realty Initiative

DALLAS-The publicly traded Pegasus Solutions Inc., a worldwide leader for hotel reservations-related technology, is turning over its real estate account with more than 500,000 sf of office and call center space to its longtime broker, triggering a new initiative for GLV Realty Advisors in Dallas.

James S. Vanderslice, GLV Realty’s president, tells GlobeSt.com that Pegasus’ outsourcing contract was the catalyst that has the nationally recognized executive again courting corporate accounts. The initiative launches just six months after Vanderslice combined his clout with Gaedeke-Landers to form GLV Realty Advisors.

Vanderslice steered Pegasus’ corporate consolidation two years ago in Dallas plus has been an adviser for subsequent real estate decisions. As a result, Pegasus looked in his direction when Gary Siegel, Pegasus Solutions executive vice president of human resources and administration, wanted to outsource real estate functions for 15 offices in the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and India.

The plan isn’t about Pegasus closing offices, Vanderslice stresses. It’s about management of real estate, all leased sites with the largest concentration in Phoenix in a 124,000-sf office and call center. As talks continued for the portfolio duties, Vanderslice helped Pegasus pin down an 8,000-sf office in Singapore.

The GLV team of nine, with upward of 90 years of combined experience, has created a database of leases and building information for all Pegasus locations. “They are all experienced people who are customer sensitive and who have a background and success,” he says of the team helping to roll out the plan. Multi-year market strategies will be put into play for each office location. “Day in and day out, we’ll proactively look at ways to save on occupancy costs,” he says of leases that bear expirations in the near term through 2012.

The 13-year-old Pegasus recently secured its third consecutive ranking as one the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Texas by Deloitte and the North American Fast 500 list. From 1998 to 2002, the company’s revenue increase more than 639%.

With Vanderslice again in pursuit of corporate accounts, he says he will hire some more, perhaps four or five in Dallas, while he continues a search in San Francisco for the right partners to start an office in the Bay area. “The market’s been very receptive,” he says, promising to “be personally involved in the accounts.” And, he says, there’s a good chance that a second corporate client could be in hand before the year ends.