Cushman & Wakefield has bought Cresa’s operations in Los Angeles, folding them into an upper-tier of commercial brokerages in the market.
Chicago-based Cushman bought Cresa’s offices in West L.A.., Woodland Hills and Westlake Village on undisclosed terms, the firm announced on Tuesday.
The deal adds weight to Cushman’s operations in the region, where it competes with the likes of JLL, Newmark and CBRE.
About 40 brokers and project managers will make the move to Cushman & Wakefield as part of the deal.
Cresa will retain an office in Downtown L.A..
The deal will make Cushman & Wakefield tenant representation services “stronger and more robust,” given that Cresa solely focuses on representing tenants, Dan Broderick, the brokerage’s head of the West region, said in a statement.
Matthew Miller, a managing principal Cresa in L.A., will join the firm, Cushman & Wakefield said. Miller helped found the brokerage in the 1980s.
Sources familiar with the brokerages told TRD the deal has been in the works for a couple of years, though it fizzled out during the pandemic.
In Los Angeles, Cresa brokers are known for representing media, entertainment and gaming companies. Earlier this year, Miller represented Creative Artists Agency in leasing a 303,000-square-foot tower in Century City that is under development by JMB Realty.
It’s not the first time Cresa has made a significant change in operations in recent months. The firm, run by CEO Tod Lickerman, recently moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C., from Chicago.
“Who wants to go to a sterile central business district?” Lickerman said at the time of the move.
The firm also made a big move in Texas recently, acquiring Dallas-Fort Worth-based brokerage ESRP earlier this month.