NEW YORK CITY-RKF announced Friday the formation of an affiliation with London-based retail consulting firm CWM Retail Property Advisors.
This marks the first time that RKF has formalized ties with an overseas firm. As part of the agreement, RKF has acquired CWM's New York City office, whose current staff will join RKF. In addition, CWM and RKF have each committed to an exclusive relationship involving shared business referrals within the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Both RKF and CWM will continue to own and operate their respective offices in both the US and the UK. Headquartered in Manhattan, RKF has additional offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Northern New Jersey, and San Francisco. RKF currently consists of 119 real estate professionals and support staff.
Founded in 1993, CWM has worked on the regeneration, transformation and creation of shopping destinations throughout London and the UK. The firm currently employs 45 professionals and staff.
"Our strategic affiliation with CWM represents a critical part of our global strategy to expand RKF's reach into key cities throughout the UK and continental Europe,” says RKF chairman and CEO Robert Futterman. "The symbiotic nature of this relationship cannot be overstated: Our U.S.-based retail tenants and investors will immediately gain access to the European markets via the CWM platform. CWM, in turn, will introduce its European-based retail tenants and investors to the US market through our national platform here.
“As our retailer and ownership clients have in recent years entered key urban markets overseas,” he adds, “they have increasingly turned to us seeking representation in these places.”
Says Scott Murdoch, founding partner of CWM, “We are delighted to have forged this strategic alignment with RKF, which is one of the strongest and most ambitious retail services firms in the States. While our relationship with Robert and his team will yield immediate benefits for both firms in the US and Europe, we also plan to work with RKF on building a joint presence in Asia where CWM has already established a beachhead.”
The company plans to announce news on the Asia effort soon, it reports.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
