Sperry Van Ness joins forces with Butler Kane.

Sperry Van Ness, one of the nation's largest commercial real estate investment and leasing brokerage firms, has entered the New York commercial real estate market by aligning with Butler Kane, Inc. Marilyn Kane and Michael Butler will now serve as managing directors and principal brokers for Sperry Van Ness/Butler Kane LLC. Additionally, Jason Pennington and Richard Leong will serve as senior advisors with Alanna Martin serving as an associate advisor. The office is located at 171 Madison Ave., Suite 1000 in New York City.

The addition of the Butler Kane team is part of Sperry Van Ness' national expansion program, which has grown from nine markets to more than 150 markets in approximately five years. Kristine Gibson, director of organizational development for Sperry Van Ness, is responsible for the company's growth in New York, while Matt Fitch, regional director for Sperry Van Ness, oversees the region's team of advisors.

"We are excited that with our marketing platform and technology tools we were able to attract one of the premier commercial real estate firms in New York City," said Jerry Anderson, COO and president of the National Advisor Organization for Sperry Van Ness. "Sperry Van Ness/Butler Kane is the first step in our goal of establishing a significant presence in this region."

Kane specializes in the sale and lease of retail and office properties in the greater New York City area. With more than 21 years of commercial real estate experience, Kane has also handled land, hospitality and multifamily transactions. She is very active in the industry currently serving as secretary and officer of the New York Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (NYCREW).

Kane is also a member of the Association of Real Estate Women (AREW) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

Butler specializes in the sale and lease of retail, office and land properties in the greater New York City area. Butler has more than 30 years of industry experience and is well known for pioneering brokerage with national mall developers.

Pennington specializes in the sale and lease of retail, office and multifamily properties in New York. Since entering the industry six years ago, Pennington has represented national landlords and tenants including Sprint and Dunkin Donuts, as well as many regional retailers.

Leong specializes in the sale and lease of retail properties, nationwide as well as in Puerto Rico. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1987, Sperry Van Ness is one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the United States with nearly 900 advisors in 150 cities in 37 states. Sperry Van Ness provides advisory, brokerage, consultation, asset management, property management, leasing, financial, accelerated marketing and auction services.

To provide the highest value to its clients, Sperry Van Ness is the only national firm that in addition to marketing to investors and existing clients, implements an immediate proactive strategy to market all listings to the brokerage community sharing its fees 50/50. Guided by this principle of proactive compensated cooperation, Sperry Van Ness, based in Irvine, Calif., advised clients on $10.9 billion in office, multifamily, retail, industrial, hospitality and land transactions in 2006. For more information, please visit www.svn.com.