Belle Property launches commercial business with three appointments
Belle Property Australasia has launched its commercial arm, appointing retail property expert, Michael Hanscomb to head up the business and opening two franchises in Sydney’s CBD and Inner West.
Michael, who began his real estate career 11 years ago and became one of CBRE’s most successful retail operators, is the son of Belle Property Australasia CEO, Peter Hanscomb. His new role is to build and recruit into the Belle Property Commercial brand, and comes after he successfully steered Knight Frank’s national retail leasing team to become the group’s most profitable division in Australia.
“Deciding to join Belle Property came down to the structure of the business; the franchisee financial structure is so attractive for top commercial agents coupled with the strength of the Belle Property brand in Australia and the fact that it’s a family business,” Michael said.
The Belle Property Commercial brand launches with two franchises opening in key markets. Andrew Vines is set to lead the Sydney CBD Private Clients operation.
Fluent in Mandarin after two years working in Hong Kong and Beijing with CBRE, Andrew joined Burgess Rawson in 2011 and grew to be one of the market leaders in strata sales in Sydney. He said his ambition to own his own business and leverage an established premium brand in the commercial sector attracted him to Belle Property.
Rocco Tripodi will spearhead the Inner West and has branched out after working in the Belle Property Newtown business for the last five years, where he grew a market-leading commercial operation across the Inner West region.
With more than 15 years’ experience in commercial real estate and an existing team of six, Rocco said the Belle Property Commercial brand will assist in enhancing their position as a specialised commercial operation.
“We’re thrilled to have already established two franchise operations that show great promise for significant growth. We welcome Andrew and Rocco and look forward to supporting them in their business pursuits,” Michael said.
As he oversees the Belle Property Commercial and Projects brands, Michael has his sights set on national expansion with key people.
“We have plans in place to expand all across Australia. Long term, it is our ambition to create the premier commercial agency in all the specialised business lines within Australia.
“We have a premium brand and franchise structure and we’re confident that will enable us to attract the top performers,” he said.