The FINANCIAL — Cushman & Wakefield and J.F. McKinney + Associates on April 22 announced an agreement to join forces, which will bring together two firms in Chicago with a shared vision for outstanding client service. This strategic move combines Cushman & Wakefield’s integrated global platform with J.F. McKinney + Associates’ deep expertise in the Chicago office leasing market.
J.F. McKinney + Associates is the market-leading agency leasing firm in Chicago, currently representing over 16 million square feet of Metropolitan Chicago office space including many distinguished iconic buildings such as the Merchandise Mart, 300 North LaSalle, John Hancock Center, 70 West Madison, 10 South LaSalle, 440 South LaSalle, 55 West Monroe, 525 West Van Buren, 2 North Riverside, and 303 East Wacker. Under the leadership of its President and Founder, Jack McKinney, the firm has distinguished itself in the marketplace by its ability to produce value for its clients and help them transform their properties through product differentiation and increased occupancy. This move propels Cushman & Wakefield to a market leading position in Chicago, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
“We’re very proud of the work we’ve achieved for our clients over the last quarter century – and now we are capable of creating more value for our clients with the significant resources and trusted platform offered by Cushman & Wakefield,” said Jack McKinney. “It’s an unmatched opportunity for our agents and our clients – I couldn’t be more excited about working with Ed, Shawn and the entire organization on our future together.”
“We have been working hard to successfully broaden and deepen our services in Chicago. Building a market leading agency leasing platform was always one of our top priorities. Now we will be working with the best in the business – Jack McKinney and his team,” said Shawn P. Mobley, President of Cushman & Wakefield’s Central and Southeast Regions as well as Chicago Market Leader. “Our professionals know each other well, having worked together on many transactions over the years. Now united, we can accomplish even more for our clients.”
Over the last 25 years, J.F. McKinney has overseen the leasing of nearly 25 million square feet of vacant space and has secured for its clients such notable new development anchor tenants such as Goldman Sachs, IBM, Mayer Brown, Hyatt Corporation, Accenture, Tate & Lyle, Abbot Laboratories and the American Hospital Association.
Jack will join Cushman & Wakefield as Vice Chairman, responsible for leading the Chicago agency leasing practice. He will also be part of Cushman & Wakefield’s national leadership focused on growing the agency leasing business and expanding Cushman & Wakefield’s relationships with institutional clients.
“Building a relationship with Jack McKinney and learning about the culture he has built and instilled in his team, and the chemistry between our firms, have created enormous excitement about the opportunities before us,” said Ed Forst, President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield. “Chicago is a strategically important foundation city for Cushman & Wakefield, where we’ve done some transformative work on behalf of our clients and we are looking forward to taking this even further under Jack’s leadership.”
“Cushman & Wakefield is making the bold and aggressive moves that serve our clients in Chicago and around the world,” said John Santora, CEO of North America. “We are continuing to seek partnerships that build on and strengthen our platform of a client-only approach to business”, as manifested by our recent acquisition of Massey Knakal in New York City and Property Tax Resources in California.
The acquisition has been approved by the parties’ respective governing bodies and is expected to close prior to April 30, 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.
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