CBRE Group snaps up tech-focused San Francisco brokerage

By Blanca Torres  –  Reporter, San Francisco Business Times With a star-studded roster of technology clients, San Francisco-based Custom Spaces sold itself to CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE:CBG), the Los Angeles commercial real estate behemoth. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.   Jenny Haeg founded Custom Spaces in 2011 and established a niche representing tech tenants including Airbnb, Cruise Automation, Medium, Twitter, Uber and Dropbox. The firm has worked with tech companies in the Bay Area as well as New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. Haeg, CEO of Custom Spaces, will join CBRE as a vice chairman in the advisory and transaction services department and will take on a leadership role with CBRE’s global technology practice.  “Custom Spaces was founded to help technology companies scale and achieve their real estate objectives,” Haeg said in a statement. “In speaking with CBRE leadership, it quickly became apparent that they shared our mission of a service-based firm.”   Before founding Custom Spaces, Haeg worked for CAC Group, another San Francisco commercial real estate brokerage that CBRE acquired four years ago.  “There are very few real estate advisors who, like Custom Spaces, both understand the unique requirements of the tech sector and can implement related plans quickly at scale,” said Joe Wallace, executive managing director for CBRE’s Bay Area office.  Haeg, like the principals of CAC Group, said joining a larger brokerage like CBRE would allow her team to serve clients on a global scene and offer more services.  “Joining forces with CBRE … will enable us to do this for more clients, in more ways and in more markets,” Haeg said.  As of October, CBRE had 88 commercial agents in San Francisco. Those agents leased or sold 175 million square feet in 2016, according to Business Times research. Bay Area Commercial Real Estate Brokerages Ranked by Bay Area agents Business name Bay Area agents Cushman & Wakefield Newmark Cornish & Carey and ARA, A Newmark Company View This List Purchase CSV