Deasy Penner Podley partners with VC-backed Side

Luxury brokerage Deasy Penner Podley is partnering with Side, the venture capital-backed white label firm that has been expanding rapidly.

Pasadena-based Deasy Penner Podley, which touts a “home as art” mission, is also changing its name to DPP.

DPP chief executive George Penner, who announced the move Tuesday, said the two firms have been negotiating a deal since January.

Penner said his firm has 300 agents and does $1.5 billion in sales.

“Times are quickly evolving and changing, and we want to be on the forefront of technology, and Side allows us to do that,” he said.

DPP is also looking to beef up its roster in certain L.A.-area markets, including Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

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The partnership is the latest in what has been a flurry of news for San Francisco-based Side.

In June, a few months after notching a $150 million funding round, the firm secured another $50 million, led by hedge fund Tiger Global Management. The latest infusion raised its valuation to $2.5 billion and, the company said, “sets the stage for a future IPO.”

Since launching in 2017, Side has recruited brokers in California, Texas and Florida, including high-profile agents Kofi Nartey, Matt Luke and Anthony Marguelas. The firm has also recently been eyeing additional markets, including New York and Washington, D.C. Side is led by Guy Gal and built around a niche model that provides behind-the-scenes tech and administrative support to select teams.

Side generates revenue by taking a 10 percent commission from its platform, using agents’ deal commissions. Gal has previously said the model is more appealing to top-performing agents whose average annual sales volume is $45 million.
Its partnership with DPP is its largest to date.

In a statement, Gal said the firm was “thrilled” to partner with DPP.

Deasy Penner was founded in 2005 by George Penner and Mike Deasy. It acquired Podley Properties in 2018. The brokerage has offices throughout Southern California, including in Malibu, Palm Springs and Santa Monica. It also focuses on architectural and historical properties: In July the agency had the listing for a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed mansion in the Hollywood Hills being sold by USC.

Mike Deasy added that teaming with Side “is not really going to change” his firm. Instead, he said the partnership will add “the Side horsepower to the DPP engine.”

The shorter name, Penner and Deasy said, allows agents to be more “front and forward” with clients, a model that fits with Side’s emphasis on broker autonomy.