Leading capital markets team joins Avison Young in Boston

Strategic hiring of three-member team adds depth to Avison Young's growing New England market presence; Michael Smith and Scott Jamieson become Principals

BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2012 /CNW/ - John Fenton, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's New England region, announced today that industry veterans Michael Smith, Scott Jamieson and Brandon Dickason have joined Avison Young to further expand the firm's capital markets business in the New England region.

Effective immediately, Smith and Jamieson join Avison Young as Principals and Dickason joins as a Vice-President in the Boston office. All three members were most recently with Jones Lang LaSalle in Boston. 

"I am excited to have this incredibly successful team join us at Avison Young," comments Fenton. "Michael, Scott and Brandon form one of Boston's leading investment sales teams, and their arrival expands our local ability to advise our clients on market evaluations, sales expertise and disposition strategies."

The trio brings sales, acquisition and financing capabilities to Avison Young's growing presence in the region. The team has completed in excess of $15 billion in transactions over the past two decades. Past and current clients include Blackstone, Archon Group, INVESCO, RREEF, Principal Global Investors, Equity Residential, New Boston Fund, Rockwood Capital, TA Realty and numerous local developers/owners. The team's notable transaction list includes One Boston Place, Sun Microsystems Campus, One Kendall Square, CityPlace I, Charles Park I & II, Russia Wharf and Waltham Corporate Center.

"We are fortunate to have Mike, Scott and Brandon on board in Boston to anchor our investment sales and financial business for New England," adds Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "Over the last 20 years, they have built an impressive roster of clients and business that aligns extremely well with our long-term strategy to grow our client-base. Avison Young will continue to seek out industry experts and market leaders who can expand our U.S. footprint and deliver the highest level of advisory services to our clients." 

Over the past three and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 40 offices and from 300 to more than 1,100 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S. 

"We found Avison Young to be the most dynamic and fastest-growing real estate firm in North America and are excited about the opportunity to grow both the practice and the firm here in Boston," says Smith. "We look forward to working with our colleagues in the U.S. and Canada, and offering market-leading services to our clients."

"Avison Young truly fills a gap in the local real estate service-delivery business," notes Jamieson. "As Avison Young is powered by its Principal ownership, the client, the execution team and the shareholders are completely aligned. Moreover, the entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit is contagious. We are excited to be part of the growth of the New England office and look forward to providing our clients with unmatched capabilities going forward."

Biographies

Michael Smith
Michael Smith brings to Avison Young more than 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Prior to joining Avison Young, he served as a Managing Director of the Boston office for the Jones Lang LaSalle capital markets group. One of the top investment sales brokers on the East Coast, Smith has been involved in the sale of more than $15 billion worth of property. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and holds a Master's Degree in professional accounting from Northeastern University. Smith is an active member of the Real Estate Finance Association, Urban Land Institute, and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board's Commercial Brokers Association.

Scott Jamieson
Prior to joining Avison Young, Scott Jamieson was Managing Director of the capital markets group at Jones Lang LaSalle in its Boston office. Jamieson has 23 years of experience in commercial real estate, 18 of which were at Spaulding & Slye and Jones Lang LaSalle. A graduate of Boston College's Wallace E. Carroll School of Management, Jamieson specializes in the sale of institutional real estate throughout New England and has been involved in the sale of more than $12 billion worth of property. He is the recipient of numerous industry awards and was also named to Boston Business Journal's Top 40 under 40 Business Leaders. Jamieson is an active member of the Real Estate Finance Association, Greater Boston Real Estate Board's Commercial Brokers Association and NAIOP Capital Markets Forum.

Brandon Dickason
Prior to joining Avison Young, Brandon Dickason spent six years as a Vice-President in the capital markets group at Jones Lang LaSalle in Boston. His responsibilities included overseeing financial and due diligence analysis and assisting in the execution of the firm's New England transactions in the Greater Boston area. Dickason has participated in more than 35 sales transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $1.3 billion. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from Tufts University and is an active member of the Real Estate Finance Association and Urban Land Institute.

In February, Avison Young was named a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business.

Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Avison Young is also the largest Canadian-owned, principal-managed commercial real estate brokerage firm in North America. Comprising more than 1,100 real estate professionals in 40 offices across Canada and the U.S., the full-service commercial real estate company provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-residential properties.

• Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Michael Smith, Scott Jamieson and Brandon Dickason
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Mike%20Smith.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Scott%20Jamieson.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Brandon%20Dickason.jpg

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: [phone]; cell: [phone]
• John Fenton, Principal and Managing Director, Boston, Avison Young: [phone] x100
• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: [phone]
• Mike Smith, Principal, Avison Young: [phone]
• Scott Jamieson, Principal, Avison Young: [phone]
• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: [phone]

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young is a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business

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SOURCE: Avison Young

Media Relations:
Sherry Quan 
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