Insignia forms Canadian alliance.

Insignia/ESG, Inc. and J.J. Barnicke Limited announced the formation of an alliance in which J.J. Barnicke Limited will serve as the exclusive representative for Insignia's client needs throughout Canada, and J.J. Barnicke Limited's clients will take advantage of Insignia's global platform. Insignia/ESG is one of the leading providers of commercial real estate services in the United States and internationally, and J.J. Barnicke Limited is the foremost commercial real estate services firm in Canada.

The agreement is part of Insignia's international program to forge alliances that will benefit clients in select markets where Insignia wishes to establish full-service capabilities by joining forces with leading independent real estate service firms.

Founded in 1959, J.J. Barnicke Limited is Canada's premier real estate service company with expertise in office, retail, industrial/warehouse, hospitality and investment sectors. Based in Toronto, Barnicke has over 400 employees in 23 offices throughout Canada. In 2001, J.J. Barnicke Limited completed more than 7,000 transactions valued at $2 billion. Some of its most notable transactions include a one million-SF headquarters for TCPL (Trans Canada Pipelines) in Calgary; a 940,000-SF regional office for The Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto; a 575,000-SF headquarters for Bell Mobility in Toronto and multiple transactions for KPMG and Nortel Networks throughout Canada.

"It is important for us to establish strong coverage of the major markets in Canada as part of our global services platform, and J.J. Barnicke is the best Canadian firm in the business," said Stephen B. Siegel, chairman and chief executive officer of Insignia/ESG. "Over the years, Insignia and J.J. Barnicke have collaborated on many assignments, serving companies such as Bank of Nova Scotia, Mack Truck Canada, McGraw-Hill,/Tellabs, and others."

"The union between the two firms, to be known as J.J. Barnicke Insignia, is also a fantastic fit culturally too," added Ron Uretta, Insignia/ESG's president. "Joe Barnicke and his team share our operating philosophy, values and commitment to excellence. Our clients will be well served in Canada, as Barnicke's clients will be throughout the rest of the world," he said.

"Through this collaboration with Insignia, we will be able to better serve our Canadian clients who need real estate representation in the United States and on an international level," said Joseph J. Barnicke, founder and chairman of J.J. Barnicke Limited. "We also expect to increase sharply our deal-flow from the United States, taking advantage of Insignia's extensive relationships with major multi-national corporations as well as worldwide institutional and entrepreneurial investors interested in augmenting their holdings in Canada."

In 2001, Insignia/ ESG was ranked the world's number one brokerage firm by both Commercial Property News and National Real Estate Investor, based on global transaction value of more than $47 billion. The firm has 56 offices (including affiliates) in the U.S.; 44 offices (including affiliates) in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, and approximately 5,000 commercial real estate professionals worldwide.

It serves a broad range of corporate and institutional clients including Bank of New York, Metropolitan Life, JP Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, LendLease, Invesco, Viacom and others.

In addition to J.J. Barnicke Limited, Insignia has international alliances with companies in Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, and South Africa. Under this program, J.J. Barnicke Limited will operate as J.J. Barnicke Limited Insignia, and all marketing policies and procedures, operating platform and corporate governance protocols will be integrated under a common platform.