Two of the most successful real estate agencies in North Sydney have merged to form one office under the Richardson & Wrench brand.
Richardson & Wrench (“R&W”) North Sydney have merged with First National North Sydney, making it the largest office of its type in North Sydney and one of the few to have a ground floor presence in the heart of the North Sydney CBD.
In addition to residential and commercial sales, management and leasing, the merged R&W North Sydney office will have its own project marketing division to be known as R&W Ben Boyd Project Marketing and Developments and R&W Hotels and Leisure, specialising in sales of hotels, motels, caravan parks and boarding house accommodation.
The office will operate under the leadership of Principal Mark Smith and Managing Director Tim O’Halloran.
Richardson & Wrench Managing Director Andrew Cocks said the merger created a business with significant scale and a wealth of experience.
“This partnership sees two top performing real estate offices now able to offer customers the benefit of more than 250 years of combined experience under the Richardson & Wrench brand,” said Mr Cocks.
“It gives our network a significantly enhanced presence on the north shore, where our offices are all outstanding performers in their respective territories.”
Mark Smith, who has been Principal of First National North Sydney since 2003, said the merger had been instigated by the NSW Government’s demolition of the R&W North Sydney office to make way for construction of the Victoria Cross station on the new Sydney Metro train line.
“Richardson & Wrench were in need of a new home and we saw an opportunity to merge two outstanding businesses to make one single office, leveraging the strength of the R&W brand on the lower north shore,” said Mr Smith.
“It is in many ways like a family reunion; R&W Director Richard Dent spent 16 years with us before leaving to establish the R&W office in 1980 and he will be an integral member of the new R&W team along with the current principal Phil Clarke.”
Mr Smith said the range of services offered by the two agencies would deliver significant benefits particularly to investors seeking to diversify their portfolios.
“Over the years we have sought to offer the full suite of real estate services, as a result we operate in all asset classes – residential, commercial, industrial, retail and tourism across sales, leasing, property management, development and project marketing,” said Mr Smith.
“That expertise is reflected in the diverse portfolios that we manage on behalf of our clients”.
“The Richardson & Wrench team brings considerable expertise in residential sales and property management to the partnership and we look forward to continuing to provide the excellent service for which both offices are renowned.”
Mr Smith said the Richardson & Wrench brand dominance on the lower north shore had been a compelling factor in the decision to operate under the red R&W banner.
“We like the R&W culture and across the lower north shore they have a string of very good offices,” said Mr Smith. “We felt confident that this partnership would be supported by customers from both camps with a lot of upside for all involved.
“It will be business as usual from December 1 and the only visible difference will be the billboard above 66 Berry Street that will bear the Richardson & Wrench logo and a refit of the offices.”
“We are more than happy to continue to have a commanding presence in North Sydney,” said Mr Smith. “It is an area in transition with a large pipeline of commercial, retail and residential development due for completion in the next few years.
“This increase in day and night population is going to breathe new life into the area and our high visibility can only be an advantage.”
