By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published Feb. 21, 2012

South Carolina affiliates of the Grubb & Ellis brand could see a name change after the corporate company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday — but that depends on where the company ends up.

Grubb & Ellis doesn’t have any corporate offices in South Carolina, but there are three independently owned commercial brokerages that have marketing agreements with the larger company.

Chris Fraser, president and broker in charge of Grubb & Ellis WRS in Charleston, said the bankruptcy of Grubb & Ellis’ corporate operations would not have any impact on his company or its customers.

“It has no bearing whatsoever. It’s strictly a branding agreement,” Fraser said.

Grubb & Ellis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday night and is seeking to sell a substantial part of the company’s assets to BGC Partners Inc. BGC owns Newmark Knight Frank, which, like Grubb & Ellis, is a national commercial real estate services firm.

Grubb & Ellis has three affiliated offices in South Carolina, including locations in Charleston, Columbia and Myrtle Beach. The Furman Co. of Greenville formerly partnered with Grubb & Ellis but is now affiliated with CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

“Clearly, Grubb & Ellis has been undercapitalized, and who is buying the assets appears to be well capitalized,” Fraser said. “I don’t know how it affects the affiliate program. As for our clients, locally, they’re still doing business with me. It will be seamless.”

BGC has proposed to offer Grubb & Ellis debtor-in-possession financing, which, if approved by a bankruptcy judge, typically allows the company to continue day-to-day operations even if some creditors are left unpaid until the disposition of the case if at all. Fraser emphasized that none of the local creditors of affiliates would be affected by the bankruptcy position of the corporate company.

Along with the company-owned brokerages and affiliates, there are more than 100 operations under the Grubb & Ellis brand, the company said in a statement.