Savills, a real estate consultancy founded in London in 1855, is entering the Montreal market after recruiting a team from JLL and Cushman & Wakefield.
Savills unveiled the seven-member roster tasked with launching the firm's Montreal operations. Joining the firm are Brandon Allen, Erik Charton, Paul Fischlin, and Stéphane Robillard as executive vice president, Robin Blanchard as vice president, George Manousos as vice president and agency executive officer, and Antoine Dumas as associate. The team will provide industrial leasing, investment sales, and capital market services in the greater Montreal metropolitan area, as well as the province of Quebec.
All were previously employed at JLL in Montreal except for Manousos, who joined the firm from Cushman & Wakefield.
"We have recruited the market's most seasoned industrial brokerage group to establish our location in Montreal. Bringing together this group of top-producing real estate advisors strengthens our ability to deliver market-ready solutions and services in North America and allows us to expand our geographical coverage into Southeast Canada," said Savills Vice Chairman Rick Schuham in a press release.
The team will be working remotely until the company secures a permanent office in Montreal, according to a Savills spokesperson. Savills has been working on opening an office in Montreal for about two years, the spokesperson said.
Savills' new team in Montreal collectively brokered $800 million in real estate transactions across Canada in 2022, involving cold storage, warehousing, port, airport, global infrastructure, distribution and logistics, flex space, land sales, and research and development, according to the statement.
Savills said favourable conditions in Montreal inspired it to expand into the city.
"The industrial sector in Montreal has remained resilient post-pandemic, with strong investment sales and leasing velocity," said Gregg Healy, head of Savills industrial services. "Montreal has a rich mix of industries, including life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, transportation, technology, and healthcare, that have continued to invest heavily in establishing operations in the market."
Savills has more than 40 offices and over 900 employees in North America. Savills other locations in Canada are in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton.
The moves are the latest in what has been an active recruiting season among Canadian brokerage firms. Last month, Toronto-based Avison Young lured three principals and five staff members from Savills to bolster its occupier services division. The new hires included Stan Krawitz, Paul Kay and Allen Grinberg.