A&G Real Estate Partners formally announced the creation of a dedicated Financial Reporting & Property Analysis Group serving stakeholders across all sectors of real estate.
Led by Senior Managing Director Douglas Bennett—formerly Vice President of Business Analytics and Strategy at global retailer Ashley Furniture Industries—the five-person team combines years of experience in financial analysis, data science and real estate strategy, said Emilio Amendola, Co-President of A&G.
“A&G has had analytics capability for some time, but we sharpened our focus on it this spring when the extraordinary need for portfolio-optimization became apparent across multiple sectors of real estate,” he explained. “As part of that process, we have brought on board everyone from former retail VPs with decades of experience in data-driven approaches, to tech-savvy analysts schooled in data analytics software and programming languages. Importantly, this group expands our ability to rapidly service clients in distressed situations as well as handle the needs of expansion-minded small and mid-sized companies looking to outsource all or parts of their real estate functions.”
In addition to consulting on big-picture strategy, the new team integrates data from site-selection and demographics services, proprietary databases, lease documentation, and a raft of other sources to create visually compelling dashboards and automated reports for use by A&G and its clients. According to Amendola, the new group empowers the firm to:
- Determine which owned or leased locations to downsize, close or dispose in retail and other sectors;
- analyze leases to isolate top candidates for occupancy-cost reduction or disposition;
- rapidly identify and target new sites that fit its clients’ real estate strategies; and
- give creditors, advisors and other key stakeholders up-to-the-minute reports on the progress of restructurings, turnarounds and dispositions spearheaded by A&G.
A&G Co-President Andy Graiser, who like Amendola, has decades of experience in real estate portfolio strategy, said the move comes at a time of unprecedented need for efficient approaches to real estate.
“This year alone, our firm has handled lease restructurings, occupancy cost reductions and lease terminations on more than 11,000 locations across North America on behalf of various clients in the retail, restaurant, supermarket, entertainment, education, health and fitness, office and industrial sectors,” he said. “Advanced data analytics capabilities are a must in this environment. Slow-going approaches won’t cut it.”
Bennett, Senior Managing Director of the new group, joined A&G earlier this year from Ashley Furniture Industries, where he founded and grew an analytics division that transformed key areas of the global retailer’s business. Prior to joining Ashley in 2015, he was Manager of Strategic Testing and Analytics for Toys “R” Us. Previously, Bennett served as a researcher and analyst for Lockheed Martin Systems Integration and mall company Wilmorite Management Group.
Reporting to Bennett is Christopher Payne, who joined the new group as Managing Director this past September. Payne previously served for eight years in analytical and real estate roles at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Most recently, as Senior Manager of Real Estate, his responsibilities included deal-making for Dick’s, Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream stores on the East Coast, handling everything from site-selection, to renewals, remodels, relocations and store closures. Earlier, he headed national market analytics efforts for the retailer’s various brands.
Sam Mishra, the team’s Senior Analyst, has broad experience in real estate investment, acquisitions, deal-sourcing and business-development and a strong focus on advanced approaches to data analytics and modeling.
The team’s project analysts are Erik Potocek, who previously served as a Chicago-based Financial Analyst for Colliers International, and Brandon Allickson, formerly a Financial Analyst on McKinsey & Co.’s FIT team in St. Petersburg, Florida.