LOS ANGELES—Partner Engineering and Science has expanded its investment advisory group with the acquisition of Foresite Advisory Services and has retained the company's principal and owner, industry veteran Marc Bourdages, as technical director. In his new role with Partner, Bourdages will provide acquisition services to institutional and private equity real estate investors.

“My election to join the Partner team then was a symbiotic one. I am excited to join a growing group of talented, best-in-class professionals supported by a financially stable firm ready to meet any client demand or requirement,” Bourdages tells GlobeSt.com. “This provides me the resources to successfully service my growing network of institutional and private equity clients, and the opportunity to leverage my decades of commercial real estate design, construction and due diligence experience.  My extensive background working with prominent real estate investment firms throughout my career has equipped me with a unique perspective not found in other PCA firms, but highly valued by our clients.”

Bourdages has more than 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. In running Foresite, he oversaw 6 billion in commercial real estate transactions, and has a special focus in providing detailed property assessments and both design and technical guidance for major capital improvement projects. “My experience is somewhat unique from other service providers because I have over 10 years of institutional real estate experience,” adds Bourdages. “I am not just a bricks-and-mortar inspector; I actually understand investment real estate.” He holds a degree in interior architecture from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, and frequently guest lectures at University of Southern California's Lusk School for Real Estate.

Although this acquisition expands Partner's investment advisory platform, that is not to say that the industry is growing, according to Bourdages. Smaller boutique firms are less quipped to handle institutional clients, and as a result are moving their business to larger firms, which then need expert talent to serve the clients. “Owning a small boutique PCA firm poses many challenges in scalability and economic stability,” says Bourdages. “After the Great Recession, consolidation is occurring amongst smaller due diligence service providers.  The institutional and large private equity investment communities, in general, are tightening insurance requirements, which due diligence firms must comply. Many boutique service providers simply cannot adequately service the unpredictable demand determined by deal flow, or afford the dramatically higher E&O policy limits imposed by many institutional investment firms.”

In addition to expanding its investment advisory group, the firm also recently expanded its hygiene practice with the hiring of Douglas Lawson as technical director in the firm's industrial hygiene group.