Paul Benson of Engel & Völkers Buys Stake in Dilbeck

A licensed partner of German brokerage Engel & Völkers has bought a major stake in Dilbeck Real Estate to expand the luxury brand at nine more offices across Southern California.

Paul Benson, partner of dozens of Engel & Völkers offices across the West, has acquired a big chunk of the 73-year-old Pasadena brokerage, adding 400 agents and support staff from Camarillo to San Marino, Inman reported.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under the deal, Benson will gain an ownership stake of the new business under Engel & Völkers.

In turn, Mark Dilbeck, the company’s long-time second-generation owner, will keep an undisclosed piece of the family brokerage as well as control of operations in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

“For Engel & Völkers, growth doesn’t come at any cost,” Anthony Hitt, CEO of Engel & Völkers Americas, said in a statement.

Dilbeck Real Estate has nine offices across Southern California that it’s bringing to Engel & Völkers, including Burbank, Camarillo, Encino, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, San Marino, Santa Clarita and Westlake Village.

Dilbeck was founded in 1950 by Ray Dilbeck. Since his son Mark took the reins of the business in 1998, the brokerage has closed nearly $1.3 billion in annual commercial and residential sales, according to its website.

Engel & Völkers, founded in 1977, operates 300 real estate offices in North and South America, with more than 6,500 agents. Across the globe, it employs more than 16,600 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, focusing on luxury services from real estate to yachts.

As a result of the merger, Engel & Völkers will have a total of 15 locations across Greater Los Angeles.

Prior to the merger, Benson co-founded the Engel & Völkers Gestalt Group in 2015 and now operates more than 40 Engel & Völkers locations across Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

Benson, based in Park City, Utah, opened a Beverly Hills office with Dougan Jones under the Engels umbrella in 2018. The company also has offices in Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks and Mid-Wilshire, Santa Barbara and Newport Beach.

Engel & Völkers has also expanded in Northern California, having just snagged a pair of former Vanguard Properties executives. It also recruited top talent from The Agency.

— Dana Bartholomew