CDNGLOBAL, a privately held, independent real estate brokerage, investment sales and advisory services firm, recently launched with offices from coast to coast and plans to expand across the country.
“As a privately owned firm, the team is neither limited nor influenced by oversized global affiliations or ruled by mass franchised brokerages with limited compensation models that may not consider regional client needs or specific local market dynamics,” says Jon Bishop, president and co-founder of CDNGLOBAL. He is based in Vancouver where the head office is located.
The company was officially launched on July 14. It has about 80 people working for it across the country, with offices in Dartmouth, Halifax, Toronto, three in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
“CDNGLOBAL came to be with the idea about 10 years ago. The vision was always a privately held, coast-to-coast Canadian full-service commercial real estate company,” says Bishop. He says the company is unique “because in the last decade we’ve really seen organizations that are in the business that we are, go down the public path and quite often the decisions are made now in the U.S. and we respond to the U.S. corporate vision and objective.
“So CDNGLOBAL, as the name says, is Canadian. Decisions are made here in Canada. The shareholders are here in Canada. The decision makers and the financing is all organized up here in Canada,” Bishop says.
He says the company will launch in Montreal this fall. “We’ve got a regional president there. The reason we haven’t launched is there are some regulatory compliance items we need to make sure we get right and that we’re properly organized so that when we do get going there are no distractions or delays.”
That will bring the company to nine offices across Canada and Bishop said the real estate firm plans to continue to grow. An announcement to expand the Toronto operation is also expected this fall.
Cities the company is considering for expansion include Quebec City, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and Victoria.
Bishop says the company is involved in all commercial real estate assets. The company represents both property owners and tenants.
Agron Miloti is the company’s CEO and co-founder.
“CDNGLOBAL unites a collaborative team to provide a truly progressive real estate solution with services tailor-made to suit the short-term goals and long-term success of our clients, spanning domestic and international markets,” says Miloti. He was formerly president and broker of Devencore (Alberta). Bishop was president, Western Region for Devencore.
The company says it offers a limitless opportunity for a collaborative ecosystem of entrepreneurs, advisors and brokers.
“The fact that we are truly Canadian and we’re private is a major differentiator. The fact that the owners and the principals and the executive team all reside in Canada and this is where the decisions are made is majorly impactful,” says Bishop.
“In terms of how we support our professionals…. Our platform that we can offer is more competitive to the brokers than what the larger public firms can offer just because they’re managing different expectations and they’re also managing shareholder value. Our shareholder value is tied directly to our brokers because some of our key brokers are shareholders as well.
“And probably one of the biggest differentiators is we’ve created a very collaborative ecosystem. If you’re a commercial firm anywhere in the world or in certain markets in Canada today and you don’t have coverage in Canada, we are the platform that you’re going to come to. Number one, we’ve got coverage; number two, we have the expertise; and number three, we’re going to collaborate. We’re not going to try and take your client away from you. We’re here to support you. We’re here to support those businesses that come into the country. And we’re here to support the brokers that lead those businesses.”
Bishop says there has been significant interest in that model because it’s unique in the Canadian market.
Mario Toneguzzi is a contributing writer for REM. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald, covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He now works on his own as a freelance writer for several national publications and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Mario was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list.
