December, 2005

Calkain Launches Institutional Division
Source: Net Lease Forum | By Michelle Napoli

Reston, VA - Calkain Cos.,formed by veteran net-lease property broker Jonathan Hipp last winter with the introduction of Calkain Realty Advisors, has entered the institutional realm with the launch of a new division, Calkain Institutional Advisors. This new division is christened with it's first assignment, the marketing of a package of Haverty's Furniture stores that will be sold as a single master net-lease transaction through a sealed-bid process.

With Calkain Realty Advisors billing itself as "a market leader in the smaller asset class, $l0million and under," says Hipp, It's time for his next move. Calkain Institutional Advisors will target deals from S10 million to S100 million-plus and an institutional clientele. "To be a real full-sevice brokerage firm, we felt we wanted to have an institutional side. The way you go after the customer, the way you go after the business and the way that you market for the business is different. It's a different market place."

Hipp has recruited Joel Kahn, who will phase out his own Boston-area consulting and advisory group, Equity Alliance Corp., to head up and grow Calkain's institutional division as managing director from a new New England office. Hipp says he met Kahn through previous work and was impressed by his analytical and consultative approach. Kahn "was instrumental in pitching us to win the listing on the Haverty's portfolio," Hipp adds. "I always thought that if there was a way to plug him in I would, because he's so knowledgeable on assessing data. When you're doing the institutional side, It's so important that you have the right package presentation or you just don't get it done."

As for the Haverty's portfolio, Hipp can't disciose the seller other than to describe it as a "large third-party institutional owner." The 11 freestanding retail properties are located in Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia and total 612,130 sf. They operate under one master bond net lease with 17 years remaining and a bump in rent in 2007.

The sealed-bid sales process was chosen "to let the market determine the value," says Hipp. Bids are due later this month, and a year-end closing is anticipated.

Expect to see more deals from Calkain Institutional Advisors soon. We're getting ready to take another property to market for another institutional owner, and we have three or four more that we're talking to now," says Hipp.

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