CBRE beefs up its Australian presence.

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (CBRE) has recently completed two acquisitions that strengthen its capabilities in Australia.

In the first acquisition, CBRE purchased the residential valuation business of DTZ Australia in Western Australia in November 2006. This business, DTZ Australia Residential Valuation (WA) Pty. Ltd., based in Perth, is one of the largest residential valuation enterprises in Western Australia.

DTZ Australia Residential Valuation will merge with the existing CBRE office in Western Australia and adopt the CBRE brand.

The second acquisition involved Brookvale-based Bridge Real Estate in December 2006, the largest commercial real estate service firm on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Bridge Real Estate will adopt the CBRE brand. CBRE also maintains offices in the Sydney CBD, North Sydney, South Sydney, Parramatta and Liverpool markets.

The two acquisitions follow CB Richard Ellis' earlier purchases in Australia of Sunshine Coast-based Rafter and O'Hagan in July 2006; Canberra-based McCann Property & Planning in February 2006; and the late 2005 acquisition of the company that previously operated the DTZ franchise in Queensland.

Tom Southern, CB Richard Ellis President & CEO, Australia & New Zealand, said, "Our strategy is to augment our service offering through the selective acquisition of firms that complement our existing platform and fit well culturally. We will continue to evaluate acquisition candidates that enable us to develop key growth markets, expand our service offering and establish new business lines to meet the needs of our clients."