James Kuhn, president of NGKF, says the Helios team is a valuable addition to the financial services advisory business the brokerage is forging at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. “Already a clear leader in the Northeast within its significant niche market and having closed more than $1 billion non-performing loans since 2009, this particular team is highly skilled and known as pioneers when it comes to REO and non-performing loan sales. They are very excited to integrate their non-performing loan sale platform with our national effort.”

In late September, NGKF and Helios merged the capital markets team into NGKF to expand and “use their national platform to get more business and help them grow their loan sale platform nationally as well as build up the capital markets group in New Jersey,” Schultz says.

The news also follows the expansion of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as a whole. In March, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the sale of BGC Partners Inc. to acquire substantially all the assets of Grubb & Ellis. BGC, a global brokerage firm, recently acquired Newmark & Co. Real Estate Inc., which operates as Newmark Knight Frank in New York City and Knight Frank in London. BGC gained control of Newmark’s US commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm, plus a controlling interest in its affiliated companies, encompassing 425 brokers.

In terms of the combined company, Schultz says describes it was an opportune time to leverage and expand the business on a bigger scale. “Being in the Northeast market for many years, we wanted to grow on a national level,” he says. “We felt that jumping on Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s platform and growing on a national level was good timing. With BGC purchasing Newmark in April. With them being interested in capital markets and growing capital markets, we thought it was a good time to do it. We felt the Helios brand was at the peak of its level and grabbing onto a national platform would be helpful for both parties.”