SRS Real Estate Partners Welcomes New Team in Toronto Office
DALLAS (PRWEB) July 13, 2015 -- SRS Real Estate Partners (SRS) is pleased to announce that three new team members have joined the SRS Toronto office to better serve clients across Canada. Joining Jamie Grossman and Lindsay Ryder are Shawn Saraga as senior vice president and market leader, Karen Koenig as first vice president and Elise Assaf as sales coordinator. The team brings a host of clients ranging from quick-service restaurants and hotels to fitness, beauty and entertainment concepts. Their clients will complement the tenant roster established by the existing SRS team's hard work. Clients transitioning with Saraga and his team will continue to receive best-in-class representation and gain the benefit of SRS’ full range of retail real estate service offerings.
The SRS Toronto office, the first office in Canada and second location outside of the U.S. for SRS, opened in 2014. Located in the heart of Canada’s largest city, the team is centrally positioned to support clients across Ontario and throughout the entire country. With the addition of Saraga’s team, SRS is well equipped to assist retailers interested in expanding to Canada, particularly in the franchise sector. With a proven track record, Saraga has assisted hundreds of franchises opening, and the team is adept at ensuring locations are not only appropriate for the brand, but ideally suited to the franchiser as well. Through their work with expanding retailers, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested into the infrastructure of the country through the construction of thousands of hotels, retail locations, and brand new developments, as well thousands of jobs being created as the brands open for business.
Shawn Saraga brings more than 10 years of experience to the Toronto office, and has helped sign hundreds of franchise agreements and leases over the course of his career. Saraga started his own company, Mr. Franchise, which worked with more than 120 brands across Canada to recruit franchisees and provide tenant representation and marketing consulting services. A subsidiary, Marathon Realty, was created in 2012 to strengthen the real estate portion of the company and merged with Cushman & Wakefield in April of 2014. There, Saraga headed up a team responsible for recruitment, tenant representation and marketing consulting services to franchisors across Canada and abroad. Of the hundreds of retailers that Saraga has worked with, many of them are notable national and international brands such as Burger King, Red Roof Hotels, Trade Secrets, and Playdium Entertainment Centres.
Karen Koenig started her career with some well-known, national and international fashion retailers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Mexx, seeing them through their rapid growth and expansion by handling their retail leasing which allowed her to develop knowledge and expertise in the real estate market. As she grew and expanded her roles, Koenig transitioned to CBRE as a member of The Retail Group where she dedicated herself to tenant representation and business development, targeting retailers wishing to expand in the growing Toronto and Canadian markets. Most recently, Koenig joined the Retail and Franchising Group at Cushman & Wakefield, working with Saraga and his team focusing on tenant representation and franchisee recruiting.
Elise Assaf joins SRS with six years' experience in both commercial and residential real estate services after beginning her career with Coldwell Banker where she assisted the licensing director. When she joined Cushman & Wakefield, she was given the opportunity to focus her work on the niche area of franchise development for the Retail and Franchise Services Department. In this role, Assaf worked with clients such as Burger King, GS Beauty Brands, Druxy’s, and Red Roof Hotels, and her responsibilities have included research, administration, lease renewal preparation, client relations, and management of events.
"The Toronto team has gained some very strong individuals with the additions of Shawn, Karen, and Elise," said Jamie Grossman, managing principal for SRS Toronto. "This group brings with them some impressive and established relationships and a host of experience that will mesh well with our growing team."
About SRS Real Estate Partners
SRS Real Estate Partners is the largest real estate company in North America exclusively dedicated to retail services. Headquartered in Dallas with more than 20 offices worldwide, SRS’ strong reach and international presence provide the company with unparalleled knowledge both globally and domestically. As a result, clients of SRS have a competitive edge through a full range of offerings including brokerage services, corporate services, development services, investment services and management services. Since its inception in 1986, SRS has built a strong foundation in the retail real estate world and grown into one of the industry’s most influential and respected leaders. Our success is measured in the achievement of our clients’ objectives, satisfaction and trust. For more information, please visit http://www.srsre.com.
Christina Wezwick, SRS REAL ESTATE PARTNERS, +1 2145603215, [email protected]
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