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Capital Markets, N.Y. Metropolitan Area Focus of Discussion at Forum

SOMERSET, N.J., July 1, 2009 – Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.’s Andrew Merin, a company vice chairman and head of its East Rutherford-based Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group, recently served as a featured speaker at NextBridge Group LLC’s “Real Estate & Alternative Investment Conference.” Merin provided a capital markets overview and New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state area review during the private event, which was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Somerset and drew NextBridge investors, colleagues, senior executives, professionals, and friends.

NextBridge Group is a national firm, headquartered in New Jersey with regional offices in metro cities, including NYC. It is an independent investment firm that focuses on private equity/real estate/alternative investments, special situations and management consulting. Its inaugural conference served as a forum for exchange of ideas and information, practical analytics, and networking. It presented diverse professionals and featured speakers on topics relevant to their respective fields and the current investment climate.

“It was a pleasure to participate in this event,” Merin said. “NextBridge has an excellent reputation in our industry for its professionalism and business strategy. The conference mirrored that quality, providing timely observations and thought exchange among a terrific group of people.”

Merin’s report on the New York Metropolitan Area real estate market included details on investment performance. He noted that nationwide, investment sales levels reached record volume in 2007, totaling $515.4 billion – even with the credit market correction that started in earnest during the third quarter of the year. Investment sales through 2008 and into 2009 have been sluggish and likely will remain that way in the near term. When the market stabilizes, sales will return to more normal levels, similar to those experienced in 2003 and 2004.

In terms of the current market, Merin noted that “to date in 2009, perception that markets haven’t ‘bottomed out’ is stalling any material sales activity, and an absence of available debt is severely reducing the pool of capable buyers.” He added that, for the few deals that are happening, assumable or available seller financing is enhancing sale execution significantly.

Merin also included regional suburban market recaps for Northern New Jersey, Fairfield County, Conn.; and Westchester County and Long Island in New York. He cited five reasons to invest in the Metropolitan tri-state region, including demographics such as population density and high incomes; and a highly educated workforce in key fields like engineering, science, pharmaceuticals and research, along with premier institutions like Yale, Princeton, Columbia and NYU.

He noted the region’s prime location with proximity to Manhattan and Port of New York/New Jersey, and a central post along the Boston-Washington, D.C., corridor. Additionally, the New York Metropolitan region, the world’s financial capital, offers the largest concentration of office space globally. Finally, Merin commented that all of this bodes well for “educated immigration.”

“We were pleased to work with Andy as one of our key presenters,” noted Mukesh M. Patel, conference chair and managing director of NextBridge. “He contributed valuable insights with respect to the capital markets and economic analysis of trends in New York metro area commercial real estate.”

Merin’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group specializes exclusively in real estate sales, joint ventures and financing in Northern New Jersey, Fairfield County, Conn.; and Long Island and Westchester County, N.Y. The team has completed more than $13.4 billion worth of transactions since 2000. For the past three years, this included an average of more than $2 billion annually, reaching $2.7 billion in 2007.