Jeff A. Williford, company president, says he and Barbara Talbot, owner of Focus Properties, had worked together in their previous careers and Williford has hired her as a consultant on various projects. "What I acquired in this deal is the client relationships and Barbara. The value we get out of it is the people involved in the business," Williford says. "The two companies have very similar beliefs and philosophies, so it's a real natural merger for us. There's a lot of synergy in bringing us together." And, he adds "nobody lost their jobs."

Talbot, acting as senior manager, and her staff expand Williford's market sphere beyond the Houston, Corpus Christi and Atlanta markets and into Amarillo and Shreveport. Although it performs some industrial property management duties, the firm predominantly focuses on the owners of office product, performing property management, leasing, facility management, construction management, due diligence analysis and consulting services.

"Our focus is commercial office buildings with an emphasis toward class A service. We do a little brokerage as well," Williford says. "All the markets we're in are seeing expanding occupancies."