Two established Harcourts commercial businesses have combined to launch NAI Harcourts RPG, joining Melbourne’s Romano Property Group with the commercial arm of NAI Harcourts Perth.
The partnership brings together Maurice Romano, founder and Managing Director of Romano Property Group, and Tony Romano, Managing Director of NAI Harcourts Perth.
The pair reconnected at this year’s Harcourts HX conference, where a conversation about the similarities between their businesses led to the new venture.
For Maurice, the move addresses what he sees as a gap in Melbourne’s commercial property market.
“We saw a real opportunity to strengthen what we were already doing in Melbourne by partnering with a team that has built an outstanding commercial business in Perth,” Maurice said.
“Tony and his team have a depth of experience and a way of approaching the market that really complements what we have built through RPG. There is strong alignment in the way we think about the business and, importantly, how we approach our clients.
“We’ve already had some early success, including five warehouse sales since joining Harcourts, but we see enormous value in having access to Tony and his team’s experience and learnings as we continue to grow.”
Tony brings more than 30 years of senior executive experience in financial services to the role. Under his leadership, the Perth business has been the number one NAI Harcourts office for the past four years, running a team across commercial sales, leasing, property management and business sales.
“What really stood out to me was how well the two businesses complemented each other and the experiences Maurice and I bring to the table,” Tony said.
“The Melbourne and Perth markets are not as different as you might think, and there are a lot of learnings we can share. We’ve built a business in Perth that provides what Tony describes as a genuine one-stop shop across leasing, sales, property management and business sales, and breadth he believes is quite unique.”
Maurice founded Romano Property Group in 2005 and has led the business for more than two decades, delivering residential, commercial, medical and retail projects with a combined value the group says exceeds $400 million.
Tom Donnelly, Head of Commercial at NAI Harcourts, said the launch strengthened the broader network.
“For clients, this creates access to a broader network, greater market intelligence and stronger connections across both Australia and the international NAI Global network,” Tom said.
NAI Harcourts RPG will initially focus on growing its Melbourne presence, with Maurice and Tony flagging the potential to eventually establish an RPG presence in Perth.
“We’re looking at this as a long-term partnership,” Maurice said. “There’s a lot we can learn from each other, and we believe combining those experiences will create something genuinely stronger for our clients and our people.”