These Franchising Site Selection Pros Can Help You Score the Perfect Real Estate Location The top commercial real estate firms according to our 2022 rankings.
By Jeff Cheatham Edited by Ryan Droste
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When franchisees sign on the dotted line, one of the priorities is finding the perfect location. This is often handled by commercial real estate firms that specialize in tenant representation.
This phase, which obviously only applies to franchise establishments that require a brick-and-mortar presence, is often referred to as the site selection process. The new franchise owner, or tenant, will be searching for a prime location to set up shop — often with direct assistance from the franchisor. Not only do these commercial real estate pros work to find the right location, but they also represent the tenant in negotiations of square footage and leasing terms.
Regardless of the specific location requirements, sometimes dictated by the franchisor, these real estate representatives apply up-to-date market analysis within the local area to find the best possible solution. In addition, they specialize in finding locations for several different types of franchise establishments, including retail, office, industrial and land.
Related: Key Trends That Will Drive Commercial Real Estate In 2022
Entrepreneur is proud of our annual Top Franchise Supplier rankings, a multi-faceted directory that includes the best of the best service providers in the industry. If you're a franchisor or franchisee in need of a new location, please review the Top-10 commercial real estate firms who've each earned a well-deserved spot on our 2022 list.
1. CBRE
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 revenue).
The company has more than 105,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE operates globally, serving a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management, as well as property management, investment management, appraisal and valuation, property leasing, strategic consulting, property sales, mortgage services and development services.
2. LocateAI
LocateAI has been a leader in retail real estate analytics for more than five years — well before "artificial intelligence" became a sales buzzword — and uses machine-learning algorithms and 175,000 variables at the census-block level to build predictive analytics and market strategy maps for growing retailers.
LocateAI Services is the world's first A.I.-powered retail real estate brokerage. It addresses the two primary objections retailers give on why they don't use modern technology to drive their real estate decision-making — cost and bandwidth. Valuable datasets are costly, and they are only useful if a retailer has the time to compile, interpret and review all the relevant data points for every site in their real estate pipeline. LocateAI is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. but its scope of services reached across the U.S.
3. RESOLUT RE
RESOLUT RE (formerly Retail Solutions) represents tenants in all 50 U.S. states and up to 77 countries around the globe, with market analytics and site selection all free of charge to their clients.
Studies and reports, valued at tens of thousands of dollars with other providers, are provided free of charge to clients who are already engaged with RESOLUT RE for site selection services. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
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4. Coldwell Banker
Powered by its network of 91,000-plus affiliated sales professionals in 3,000 offices worldwide, Coldwell Banker is a leading provider of full-service residential and commercial real estate brokerage services.
The brand's mission is to empower its people to leave their mark on the world of real estate. Coldwell Banker prides itself on its history of expertise and honesty since its beginnings in 1906. The brand is committed to providing its network of sales professionals with the tools and insights needed to excel in today's marketplace and is known for its bold leadership and dedication to driving the industry forward with big data. The company is headquartered in Madison, NJ.
5. Colliers International
Colliers International (NASDAQ, TSX: CIGI) is a leading real estate professional services and investment management company.
With operations in 68 countries, more than 15,000 enterprising professionals work collaboratively to provide expert advice to maximize the value of the property for real estate occupiers, owners and investors. For more than 25 years, Colliers' experienced leadership, owning approximately 40% of company equity, has delivered compound annual investment returns of almost 20% for shareholders. In 2019, corporate revenues were more than $3 billion ($3.5 billion including affiliates), with $33 billion of assets under management in its investment management segment. Colliers International is headquartered in Toronto.
6. Morrow Hill
Morrow Hill offers premier corporate and franchise real estate strategies worldwide.
Headquartered in Dallas, the firm's clients receive the best presentation of properties and exceptional real estate services to meet every one of their commercial leasing and real estate needs. Morrow Hill always exclusively represents tenants in their lease negotiations. The firm prides itself on having unparalleled access to every option in the market and meeting its clients' long-term real estate objectives through our single point of contact model. Clients can take advantage of the following services: national real estate portfolio management, transaction management, franchise management and lease administration.
Related: Three Ways to Beat Market Downturns In Real Estate
7. Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners.
Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms in the world, with approximately 50,000 employees in more than 400 offices and 60 countries. In 2020, the firm had revenue of $7.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. Headquartered in Chicago, Cushman & Wakefield maintains a global presence in meeting commercial real estate needs.
8. Fischer
Fischer is a Texas-based global corporate real estate services firm focused solely on minimizing costs and maximizing operational efficiencies for tenants and owner-occupiers.
Fischer provides transaction management, tenant representation, lease administration and technology solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Fischer's technology platform links data from HR, procurement, CRE, facilities management, accounting, finance, legal and other shared corporate services to form a comprehensive end-to-end business management solution. Fischer is headquartered in Dallas.
9. Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries ("Newmark"), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle.
Newmark's comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, and startups to blue-chip companies. Combining the platform's global reach with market intelligence in both established and emerging property markets, Newmark provides superior service to clients across the industry spectrum. Newmark generated revenues of nearly $3.1 billion for the twelve months ending March 31, 2022. Headquartered in New York City, Newmark's company-owned offices, together with its business partners, operate from approximately 170 offices with 6,300 professionals around the world.
10. Keyser
Keyser is dedicated to retail commercial leasing for franchise brands throughout the U.S. and Canada.
As a leading commercial leasing and brokerage firm, Keyser believes your brand is more than just a logo and a product—it's an environment, a culture, a way of life. While no singular characteristic defines a brand, many play a role in how your customers perceive your brand, including your retail location and space. From planting your very first roots to expanding to your hundredth location, Keyser is there to help at every turn. The firm's franchise specialists combine deep market knowledge and experience with best-in-class demographic and psychographic data to identify optimum sites and negotiate ideal terms. Keyser is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Related: Cash-Out Refinance: What Is It and Why Is It Useful for Commercial Properties?
