While the turn of the new millennium had plenty of people worried about how their technology would adapt, it ushered in a new era for commercial real estate in Hamilton.
A merger between local agency Brunton Patton, who were involved in a mixture of commercial brokerage, property management, rural sales, and some residential transactions across Waikato and Bay of Plenty, took place as they partnered with Colliers.
Mark Brunton, who was the Principal at Brunton Patton at the time, had known then-Colliers CEO Mark Synnott for more than 10 years. When the pair spoke about a potential merger it all came together quickly and Colliers Hamilton opened their doors in mid-2000 with Y2K concerns a distant memory.
Brunton, now a Director at Colliers Hamilton, told the New Zealand Herald in June in 2000 that linking with Colliers (known as Colliers Jardine at the time) would give their business more exposure by being part of a global network.
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“A strong national network will provide an opportunity to attract further investment from outside the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions,” Brunton told the Herald.
Fast forward a quarter of a century and Colliers Hamilton has a strong presence in its local market and the growth of the office has coincided with the expansion of Hamilton, which has grown considerably during the past two decades with major industrial and residential development.
Colliers Hamilton has been involved in key deals that have shaped Hamilton, including leasing The Base shopping centre and selling more than $100 million of residential development land in the R2 Growth Cell in the north-east of the city.
They have also held the property management contract with the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi for Waikato and Bay of Plenty for nearly 20 years.
“Because of the way we work we have been able to develop long-lasting relationships with corporate, government, and private clients,” Brunton says.
“The merger from our old agency with Colliers came at a great time and our proximity to Auckland and Tauranga has proven beneficial. It’s been a privilege to work alongside so many great clients who have placed their trust in us.”
Alan Pracy joined Colliers Hamilton in 2009 and is now a Director and has built a strong track record of major industrial sales and leasing transactions.
“We have developed an excellent team and have a complementary set of skills across our ownership group in our office. We all just get on and do the business and it is an enjoyable place to work,” Pracy says.
“Being part of the wider Colliers business provides us global reach with the ability to collaborate across the national network of offices that gives us a significant advantage in the market and allows us to deliver great outcomes for our clients.”
Brunton and Pracy both agreed that being able to retain team members over a long period had contributed to their success with the likes of Operations Manager Wendy Simpson playing a key role having originally joined the company as an Executive Assistant in 2012.
Synnott, now the Executive Chairman at Colliers, says the establishment of the Hamilton office has helped drive the broader presence of Colliers across the Waikato region.
“Mark and Alan have played a pivotal role in our growth story as a business and have been excellent partners since aligning with Colliers. We have built strong relationships across many years and their knowledge of their local market has underpinned their success,” Synnott says.
“We look forward to continuing to work alongside Mark and Alan and their team.”
- Supplied by Colliers
