Knight Frank will open a Gold Coast office this month as activity in the city’s commercial market builds in the lead up to the 2032 Olympic Games. George Parzis and Abel Erasmus will head up the office, located at Level 5/64 Ferny Avenue in Surfers Paradise, moving to Knight Frank from NAI Harcourts.

With a combined 40 years’ experience in the real estate industry, Mr Parzis and Mr Erasmus have been working in agency since 2000.

Mr Parzis has a strong background in sales and leasing, having run successful commercial agencies since 2000 in Melbourne and the Gold Coast, including Property One Commercial, Harcourts Broadwater and NAI Harcourts.

His experience in Melbourne from 2000 to 2015 saw him transact some significant sales including a large parcel of land with multiple titles running from Spencer Street to Dudley Street in West Melbourne to Multiplex for $40 million and a half-hectare site for Cadbury Schweppes in Prahran to Lechte Corporation.

He has previously specialised in selling large inner city industrial parcels for redevelopment, and with a strong commercial construction background, will offer clients a unique service.

Mr Erasmus’ experience in real estate has been focused on asset management services. He has previously worked as the CEO of an unlisted property investment fund in South Africa where he repositioned under-performing assets and oversaw the disposal of the fund.

Since 2017, when he moved to Australia, he has overseen the management of a diverse group of assets on the Gold Coast – from small industrial sheds to retail shopping centres, as a part owner of NAI Harcourts Gold Coast.

Knight Frank’s new Gold Coast office will initially have 10 people in the team, with significant growth to come through new hires.

The team will cover the office, industrial and retail markets in sales, leasing and asset management services right across the Gold Coast from Coolangatta in the south to Ormeau in the north, and west to Beaudesert.

Knight Frank Partner and CEO James Patterson said the office opening would kickstart an expansion plan for Knight Frank in Queensland.

“South East Queensland is seeing a lot of investment, and while it already has a strong infrastructure pipeline, this will only be strengthened by the upcoming Olympic Games,” he said.

“With the Gold Coast set to host Olympic events it will benefit from associated infrastructure, as well as ongoing strong population growth, which is why it is a key growth area for our business.

“George and Abel having many decades of experience in the real estate industry, across both sales, leasing and AMS, so they were an ideal fit to expand our business.

“The duo will service our existing clients right across the board, as well as appealing to new clients.”

Mr Parzis said the pair were looking forward to joining the Knight Frank brand at a time when the market was experiencing strong activity.

“We are excited to grow the Knight Frank business on the Gold Coast and expand its market share,” said Mr Parzis.

“With Knight Frank being a major well-known national brand for commercial real estate we will cover all facets of the commercial market.

“Our AMS portfolio has seen tremendous growth over the past three years, and further expansion will be made possible by the Knight Frank brand.

“The commercial market on the Gold Coast has been experiencing strong demand in recent years, particularly in the industrial sector, with mixed-use development sites also high on the radar for buyers.”

Knight Frank National Head of Franchise Scott Timbrell said the business was looking to open offices in other parts of Queensland as part of its expansion.

“We see many growth opportunities in the Sunshine State,” he said.

“Queensland is a focus for many investors looking to capitalise on the transformation taking place in Brisbane and other parts of South East Queensland, and our clients will value our expanding presence in the state.”