Knight Frank has bolstered its Capital Markets team in South Australia following three new appointments and one promotion.

Chet Al, Ryan Mills and Chris Clemente have joined Knight Frank in the following roles:

• Chet Al - Partner, Head of Investment Sales, SA
• Ryan Mills - Partner, SA Institutional Sales
• Chris Clemente – Sales Executive, Investment Sales

Meanwhile Max Frohlich has been promoted to Partner, Head of Capital Markets, SA from his previous role as Head of Institutional Sales.

Mr Frohlich has been with Knight Frank for two years following a three-year hiatus from the company, after starting his property career with the global real estate agency as a Commercial Valuer.

Mr Al, Mr Mills and Mr Clemente have a strong reputation in Adelaide’s property industry as high performing agents, and have moved to Knight Frank from Savills.

Mr Al has around 14 years’ experience in commercial property, having worked at McGees prior to Savills, along with other major real estate agencies, while Mr Mills has more than 13 years’ experience, having worked at Colliers prior to Savills.

Mr Clemente also worked at Colliers prior to Savills, and has around five years’ experience in the Adelaide market.

Knight Frank Managing Director South Australia Bobbette Scott said the three newcomers had solid track records, and would bolster Knight Frank’s agency sales team led by Max Frohlich.

“Chet, Ryan and Chris are all very well regarded in Adelaide’s commercial property market,” she said.

“Their appointments, in addition to Max’s promotion, means Knight Frank now has one of the most senior, dynamic and sophisticated Capital Markets teams in the city.

“Both Ryan and Max have come from a valuations background, giving them a wider depth of knowledge, while Max also has experience working on the client side, and Chet is well known for his ability to build exceptionally strong client relationships.

“We look forward to leveraging the wide-ranging skills and experience of all four team members, in addition to their energy and professionalism, to deliver exceptional results for our clients.” 

Ms Scott said Chet and Chris would focus predominantly on Investment Sales, while Ryan and Max would on Institutional Sales.

“However, our dedicated transactions team will work closely together and collaborate with all service lines in our South Australian office.

“They will also work with the wider Knight Frank Capital Markets & Advisory teams to ensure complete global coverage and extensive reach into multiple marketplaces and across all real estate sectors.”

Mr Frohlich said: “Having worked on the client side with both Ryan and Chet, I have experienced first hand their ability to leverage technical and interpersonal negotiation skills to deliver outstanding outcomes.

“This experience includes Ryan and I initiating a $98 million off-market transaction for a distribution centre in Adelaide’s Outer North when I was working at Realmont Property Partners in Sydney, and working with Chet on a $4.35 million multi-tenanted medical facility deal Chet sold to Leyton Property following my return to Adelaide.”

Mr Frohlich said he was excited about the new team coming together at a time when Adelaide’s commercial property market was starting to regain momentum.

“In the calendar year to date there has been over $1 billion of office, retail and industrial transactions above $5 million, up more than 95 per cent from around $460 million this time last year, and excluding several significant sales expected to settle imminently.

“While transaction volumes have decelerated substantially at a fund/institutional level, Knight Frank has experienced increased interest from private investors.

“This is not only mandates of active or known local private high net worth investors, but a number of alternative groups seeking exposure to real estate in South Australia, including interstate family offices and corporates looking to diversify, with parties still willing to acquire premium assets at yields below current debt costs.

“The key to achieving pricing at this level is targeting the right audience, qualifying the purchaser’s capital structure, and pitching the asset as a perfect fit for their mandate.”

Mr Frohlich added: “Strengthened by the new team, our track record, 100 per cent unwavering commitment, technical experience and ability to leverage relationships will ensure Knight Frank’s Capital Markets team is well placed to capture more than our fair share of Adelaide’s growing market share.”

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L to R, Knight Frank South Australia, Chris Clemente, Ryan Mills, Bobbette Scott, Max Frohlich and Chet Al.