"Working with Re&Solution, we can provide in-depth localunderstanding to give our clients a competitive edge in thesegrowing markets," says Horrell, CEO of JLL's European CapitalMarkets group. While only founded in 2003, Re&Solution'sexecutives have decades of experience in the Baltics, and in thepast two years alone, the firm has provided advisory services ontransactions in those countries totaling $280 million.

The partnership connects Re&Solution with one of the world'sleading commercial real estate organizations, and Re&Solutionchairman Lau Melchiorsen says he believes the arrangement "willenable us to realize new opportunities for investors, corporationsand developers" by enhancing the company's core strengths. "We arein a very active market and are excited about the opportunitiesthat our alliance can bring," says Melchiorsen, whose companyemploys 50 industry professionals.

Many parts of the Baltics are enjoying a sustained boom, and JLLsays clients are eager to take advantage of the activity, either byservicing consumers and other businesses, or by providing capitalfor construction of modern industrial, multifamily, office andretail space. A multi-cultural metropolis of 850,000 people,Vilnius has been among the better performers economically thisdecade, relying on such industries as financial services, insuranceand tourism, a source drawn by the city's old-world architecture.Select markets in Estonia, Latvia and the Ukraine are alsoproviding attractive opportunities, according to Horrell, whopredicts Re&Solution will enable the firm to tap into hiddengems. JLL is already prevalent throughout Europe, and operatesglobally in more than 50 countries and 450 municipalities.