巴菲特的一家房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)公司等了18年才簽下第一份海外特許經(jīng)營(yíng)合同?，F(xiàn)在，這家公司正在把自己的“觸角”伸向意大利、日本和中東等地。

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices（BHH）本月與設(shè)在倫敦的Kay & Co.達(dá)成合作，這是繼柏林的Rubina Real Estate之后，該公司在歐洲的第二家加盟商。BHH希望在年底前將米蘭、維也納和迪拜納也入自己的業(yè)務(wù)版圖。

BHH母公司負(fù)責(zé)人吉諾·布萊法里在柏林接受采訪時(shí)表示：“我們已經(jīng)為一系列市場(chǎng)做好了安排。最終我們將進(jìn)入所有大都市?！盉HH正在與巴黎以及馬德里的潛在合作伙伴談判，而且還將目光投向了墨西哥城、香港以及東京。

HomeServices of America由幾家房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)商和抵押貸款公司組成。在2000年收購一家能源公司的交易中，巴菲特的伯克希爾-哈撒韋公司先是買下了HomeServices的部分股權(quán)。最初，這位億萬富翁投資人并不怎么關(guān)注HomeServices，但從那時(shí)起，后者逐漸成為美國最大的住宅經(jīng)紀(jì)公司之一。

布萊法里是HSF Affiliates的首席執(zhí)行官，BHH是HSF Affiliates的一部分。HSF Affiliates則為HomeServices of America所有，其業(yè)務(wù)是經(jīng)營(yíng)房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)特許經(jīng)營(yíng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)。

覆蓋全球

布萊法里說：“越來越多高端地產(chǎn)買家來自美國以外的地方，因此成為全球化公司對(duì)我們而言已經(jīng)變得至關(guān)重要?！?/p>

Kay & Co.是一家倫敦豪宅經(jīng)紀(jì)公司，主要經(jīng)營(yíng)區(qū)域包括梅費(fèi)爾和海德公園等地。與BHH結(jié)盟時(shí)，英國房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)正受到英國脫歐的打擊。但這家現(xiàn)已更名為Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Kay & Co.的英國公司并未被嚇倒，它計(jì)劃通過收購以及合資公司來擴(kuò)張，而且今后10年將增設(shè)多達(dá)10個(gè)獨(dú)立辦事處。

BHH的歐洲和中東業(yè)務(wù)董事總經(jīng)理米奇·劉易斯說：“我們著眼于事物的長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)發(fā)展，因此英國公投等事件不會(huì)影響我們的決策。毫無疑問，這些因素很重要，但它們不會(huì)左右我們的工作?！?/p>

據(jù)HSF Affiliates的全球銷售高級(jí)副總裁邁克爾·賈爾伯特介紹，將不同國家的買家和賣家聯(lián)系在一起的能力已經(jīng)有了回報(bào)。自從宣布有意跟Kay & Co.合作以來，伯克希爾-哈撒韋的網(wǎng)絡(luò)一直在穩(wěn)定地為這家英國公司提供線索。他說：“我們甚至還沒有改掉那些標(biāo)識(shí)。”

德國合作伙伴

今年早些時(shí)候跟柏林的Rubina Real Estate聯(lián)手是BHH建立全球網(wǎng)絡(luò)的第一步。劉易斯說，BHH還在德國其他主要城市尋找機(jī)會(huì)，而法蘭克福可能成為“非常自然的第二步”。

在美國，去年收購競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手Long & Foster Cos后，HomeServices of America正在跟Realogy Holdings Corp.旗下的NRT LLC部門爭(zhēng)奪市場(chǎng)頭把交椅。布萊法里稱，HomeServices已經(jīng)再次出手，并且預(yù)計(jì)將在今年年底前完成兩項(xiàng)“重大”收購。

他說：“這些是我們的歡樂時(shí)光。眼下我們是舞會(huì)上最漂亮的女孩。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

One of Warren Buffett’s real estate brokerages waited 18 years to sign its first overseas franchise deal. Now the firm is extending its reach to regions from Italy to Japan and the Middle East.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices this month teamed up with London-based Kay & Co., its second franchisee in Europe, after Rubina Real Estate in Berlin. The company hopes to add Milan, Vienna and Dubai to its network before the year’s out.

“We’ve got a number of markets already teed up,” Gino Blefari, who oversees a business that operates franchise networks, said in an interview in Berlin. “Eventually we’ll be in all the major metropolitan markets.” The company is also in talks with prospective partners in Paris and Madrid, and is looking at Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo as well.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. first acquired a stake in HomeServices of America—comprised of real estate brokerages and mortgage companies—as part of the purchase of an energy business in 2000. The billionaire investor originally paid little attention to HomeServices, but that operation has since become one of the largest residential-brokerage owners in the U.S.

Blefari is chief executive officer of HSF Affiliates, which includes Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and is owned by HomeServices of America. Blefari’s business operates networks of real estate brokerage franchises.

Global Reach

“With so many buyers of high-end properties coming from outside the U.S., it became essential for us to be able to say we were global,” he said.

The tie-up with a luxury-property brokerage focused on London neighborhoods including Mayfair and Hyde Park comes as Brexit hammers the U.K. housing market. Undeterred, the U.K. firm—now known as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Kay & Co.—plans to expand through acquisitions and joint ventures, and will add as many as 10 standalone offices in the next decade.

“Events like the referendum in the U.K. are not a decision-maker for us because of the long-term nature of how we look at things,” said Mitch Lewis, managing director for Europe and the Middle East at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “They’re important, no doubt, but they don’t drive what we do.”

The ability to link buyers and sellers in different countries is already paying off, according to Michael Jalbert, senior vice president for global sales at HSF Affiliates. Since announcing its intention to work with Kay & Co., the U.K. company has received a steady stream of leads from the Berkshire Hathaway network. “And we haven’t even changed the signs yet,” he said.

German Partner

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices made its first step toward forming a global network by joining forces with Berlin’s Rubina earlier this year. The firm is looking for opportunities in other major German cities, Lewis said, adding that Frankfurt would make a “very natural second step.”

Back in the U.S., HomeServices of America is vying with Realogy Holdings Corp.’s NRT LLC unit for top spot in the market after last year’s purchase of rival broker Long & Foster Cos. Blefari said the company has been back on the acquisition trail and expects to close two “big” acquisitions by the end of the year.

“These are fun times for us,” he said. “We’re the prettiest girl at the dance right now.”