A leading international law firm, the client needed to
aggressively expand its US practice in a building capable
of attracting and retaining new hires. The chosen real
estate strategy had to achieve a competitive cost advantage
in comparison with the firms peer group.
As part of the initial search for a new building, CresaPartners secured a sublease transaction for the clients
original space at Rockefeller Center that offset the
remaining liability of $0.5 million. The decision to
pursue space at 520 Madison Avenue was taken following
a benchmarking study of New Yorks major law firms
conducted by CresaPartners. This indicated that in
comparison to their competitors, the building provided
a highly efficient office layout producing an 18% lower
real estate cost per attorney.
Subsequent to securing the initial floor at 520 Madison
Avenue, aggressive growth of the firm required the acquisition
of additional space that could also accommodate future
anticipated growth. Hidden space in the building was
located and by negotiating the exclusion of landlord
recapture rights, future expansion space was subleased
at a profit with stepped expiration dates. The client
achieved significant flexibility for future expansion
over a 3-year time horizon while saving $2.4 million
in real estate costs.
Negotiating on behalf of the client, savings of $2.3
million were achieved during lease negotiations for
the initial floor and $4.79 million for the additional
floor incorporating savings from the subleasing program.
$7.59 million
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