Media release - 18^th February, 2013

Raine & Horne Commercial’s regional network comes up trumps

• Raine & Horne Commercial offices in Canberra, Newcastle and Tamworth dominate annual state awards
• Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra proves most decorated office
• Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) to continue to underpin commercial property markets in 2013

Regional offices proved the star performers at Raine & Horne’s Annual NSW/ACT Awards on Saturday night, dominating the leading real estate group’s highly competitive commercial categories at the prestigious event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney.

In a dominant performance, Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra, the reigning REIA Commercial Agency of the Year, was named Top Commercial Office (Dollar Value), while Principal Frank Morella grabbed Top Commercial Salesperson (Leasing Dollar Value).

The ACT-based office’s golden streak continued with sales agent Steve Burke declared Raine & Horne Commercial’s Top Commercial Salesperson (Number of Leasing Transactions) for 2012.

The strength of Raine & Horne Commercial’s regional network was further highlighted when Steven Dick, co-Principal of Raine & Horne Commercial Newcastle, was announced as winner of the Top Commercial Salesperson (Dollar Value) category.

To round out the regional domination, Raine & Horne Commercial Tamworth was awarded Top Commercial Business Growth (Dollar Value), after significantly increasing its sales transactions over the past 12 months.

“It’s really pleasing to see our regional commercial offices performing so strongly, which vindicates our expansion outside the Sydney CBD,” says Angus Raine, CEO of Raine & Horne, who maintains commercial real estate markets are set for a bright 2013, the year in which his company celebrates its 130^th year of operation.

“In my opinion, 2012 was a turning point for commercial real estate across NSW and the ACT, with many regions experiencing an increase in buyer activity, spurred by the growing popularity of the Self-Managed Super Fund sector,” said Mr Raine.

To support Mr Raine’s claims, Australian Tax Office (ATO) statistics show that from 2008 to 2012, the acquisition of commercial property assets by SMSFs jumped by 77%.[i]

As part of Raine & Horne Commercial’s expansionary strategy, it launched four new commercial offices across Australia during 2012, including Erina on the NSW Central Coast, Hervey Bay in Queensland, and Brunswick and Melbourne CBD in Victoria.

That’s not to say Raine & Horne Commercial’s offices in Sydney haven’t enjoyed plenty of recent success, with Raine & Horne Commercial Homebush announcing the $12.25 million sale of 1 Wonderland Drive, Eastern Creek.

“This is a great result for the Raine & Horne Commercial Homebush team, with this property selling to a private investor on a short term lease of approximately three months,” said Mr Raine.

The 2012 Raine & Horne NSW/ACT Awards for Excellence winners include:

Top Commercial Salesperson (Sales Dollar Value)

Steven Dick, Raine & Horne Commercial Newcastle

Top Commercial Salesperson (Leasing Dollar value)

Frank Morella, Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra

Top Commercial Salesperson (Number of leasing transactions)

Steve Burke, Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra

Top Commercial Office (Dollar Value)

Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra

Top Commercial Office Business Growth (Dollar Value)

Raine & Horne Commercial Tamworth

-ENDS-

For further media information contact:

Angus Raine, CEO, Raine & Horne on 0409 920 697

Andrew Harrington, National Marketing & Communications Co-ordinator on 02 9258 5400