February 26, 2018 9:00 AM
Newmark, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate advisory firms, today announced a strategic investment in Knotel, a rapidly-growing player in the flexible office market. The partnership will allow Newmark’s audience of owners and other clients to have streamlined access to Knotel’s footprint across New York City, San Francisco and London.
The investment signals a hard shift in the commercial office market, which has traditionally been defined by long leases and is moving toward more nimble, integrated offerings for modern companies. Newmark and Knotel share a vision of the future of work: flexibility. Knotel’s platform of made-to-measure spaces, services, and terms for companies of up to 1,000 employees enables CEOs to size and design their spaces to their needs and change them over time. This helps take the guesswork out of real estate, and re-centers the buying process around companies.
For owners, Knotel serves as a partner to increase building revenue and occupancy rates by providing a constant demand engine and full-service product that today’s executives expect and tomorrow’s market cycles can withstand.
“We see tremendous growth and long-term opportunity in the flexible office market, which Knotel has taken to a new level,” said Barry Gosin, CEO of Newmark. “On both the ownership side and the tenant side, there is a recognition that innovation is coming and flexibility is the hallmark. With this investment in Knotel, we’re supporting this powerful platform and bringing it to our unparalleled network of owners and tenants.”
“Newmark is a world-class operation and thought leader,” said Amol Sarva, CEO and co-founder of Knotel. “They’ve spotted what we’ve experienced, which is that today’s companies are agile but their real estate is not. Both customers and owners have become too exposed to uncertainty. We’re working on reinventing a better product, and with Newmark’s investment, can accelerate even more rapidly.”
The news comes on the heels of an explosive 2017 for Knotel, in which it announced a $25 million round of Series A funding and subsequently added to its tally of 30 locations across New York City and San Francisco, placing it among the top three flexible office players in America’s largest office market: New York. The company will soon open in London, with plans to expand to several other cities thereafter.
About Knotel
Knotel is redefining how companies access and manage their office space. With its “Headquarters as a service” model, Knotel offers made-to-measure spaces, services, and terms for growing businesses. Named a Top 50 Startup for 2018 and New York’s Hottest New Workspace Model in 2017, Knotel has raised $25 million in funding and operates over 700,000 square feet of space across NYC and SF.
About Newmark
Newmark (“Newmark”), operated by Newmark Group, Inc. (“Newmark”), is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Newmark has over 4,600 employees in over 120 offices. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, Newmark’s 15,000 professionals operate from more than 400 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents. With roots dating back to 1929, Newmark’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. We offer a complete suite of services and products for both owners and occupiers across the entire commercial real estate industry.
Our investor/owner services and products include investment sales, agency leasing, property management, valuation and advisory, diligence, underwriting and, under trademarks and names like Berkeley Point and Newmark Capital Markets, government sponsored enterprise lending, loan servicing, debt and structured finance and loan sales. Our occupier services and products include tenant representation, real estate management technology systems, workplace and occupancy strategy, global corporate services consulting, project management, lease administration and facilities management. We enhance these services and products through innovative real estate technology solutions and data analytics designed to enable our clients to increase their efficiency and profits by optimizing their real estate portfolio. We have relationships with many of the world’s largest commercial property owners, real estate developers and investors, as well as Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.
Newmark, which is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “NMRK”, is a publicly traded subsidiary of BGC Partners, Inc. (“BGC”), a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “BGCP”. BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BGCA”.
Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about Newmark
Statements in this document regarding Newmark that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Newmark undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see Newmark’s and BGC’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, any updates to such risk factors contained in subsequent Forms 10-K, 10-Q, or Forms 8-K.