Team effort as office and rising star win awards

Colliers International added two more gongs to its trophy cabinet at the 2014 Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (Reinz) Awards for Excellence.

The company's industrial team based at Highbrook, South Auckland, took home the Commercial and Industrial Office of the Year award for offices with 25 or fewer licensed salespeople, and investment sales broker Adam White won the Commercial and Industrial Rising Star of the Year title.

Charles Cooper, Colliers International's Auckland managing director, said the Highbrook industrial office recorded its fifth record year in a row last year.

A number of notable transactions - many of which were some of the largest industrial property sales in New Zealand last year - helped the office win the award. These included large sale and leaseback programmes for companies such as Tegel, Carter Holt Harvey, DH Steel and Turners and Growers.

Greg Goldfinch, national director of industrial for Colliers, said the award was a major endorsement of the Highbrook office's market-leading position in industrial property sales.

"We are thrilled to win this prestigious recognition from Reinz," Goldfinch said. "To come out on top against strong competition from the other commercial real estate offices around the country is testament to our reputation as a trusted service provider which maintains strong relationships with valued clients who bring us repeat business every year."

Adam White, winner of the Reinz Commercial and Industrial Rising Star of the Year 2014 award, completed transactions to the value of $28.6 million.

Cooper said Colliers International was proud to have one of its brokers win the Rising Star award.

"To be recognised against many other promising brokers beginning their careers around the country, shows the significant achievement Adam has made in building strong relationships with his clients."

Colliers International's Reinz recognition follows the company's award haul at the annual Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) New Zealand commercial property awards in April. For the fourth year running, Colliers International won the Rics commercial property sales awards hat-trick - making it the top sales agency in the commercial, industrial and retail sectors for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

"Following our success at the Rics awards, we are delighted to again be recognised at a national level," Cooper said. "To win 10 major industry awards in three months is extremely pleasing and is a reflection of the hard work put in by our teams nationally in 2013."

The Reinz awards judges considered unconditional deals between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014. Colin Taylor