Industry-leading self storage investment sales team, The Mele Group, has joined the firm Cushman & Wakefield. The 16-member, multi-market team is led by Vice Chairman Mike Mele, a veteran of the commercial real estate industry with 20 years’ experience specializing in the sale of self storage assets.
Mele and his team will be based in Cushman & Wakefield’s Tampa office, with several brokers sitting in other offices around the country. In addition to Mele, the team includes:
Nine non-broker team members will also be based in the Tampa office.
The Mele Group represents clients ranging from private investors to large-scale REITs in the development, expansion, consolidation, acquisition and disposition of self storage assets.
“Self storage is a high-demand market that has grown exponentially since our team started out two decades ago,” said Mele. “Cushman & Wakefield’s scale, industry-leading resources and truly integrated platform will afford our team the ability to provide our clients an enhanced level of service in this ever-evolving and quickly growing industry.”
The team will work closely with Cushman & Wakefield’s existing brokers who specialize in self storage, as well as Managing Director Kate Spencer (Dallas), who specializes in self storage with the firm’s Valuation & Advisory Services team.
"I am very excited for Mike and his team to join Cushman & Wakefield. I think the combination of an expanded brokerage platform and a national valuation platform will really enhance our capability to meet our client’s needs. We are all looking forward to what’s next!"
Kate Spencer, Managing Direcor, Valuation & Advisory, Cushman & Wakefield
Since its inception in 1999, at Marcus & Millichap, the team has closed nearly 350 self storage transactions totaling more than $3.5 billion. In 2018 alone, the team closed 48 deals for 63 total properties in 16 states. At the group’s previous firm, it consistently ranked as the top self storage sales team in the country and received numerous production-based accolades.
“Mr. Mele and his team have built a very successful national business,” said Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, Chief Executive of Global Capital Markets & Investor Services for Cushman & Wakefield. “The knowledge and relationships they bring within this niche market will certainly help position our firm at the forefront of the self-storage industry.”
