Charleston commercial real estate broker Miles Barkley merges firm with Lee & Associates

A veteran of the local commercial real estate business is merging his boutique firm with a larger brokerage.

Miles Barkley and The Barkley Co. will become part of Daniel Island-based Lee & Associates Charleston, effective today.

Barkley is joining the firm as a principal. He said the deal will enable his four-person office to expand into other areas of the industry and work with more brokerage firms.

“I think we can bring relationships and a portfolio of properties and help each other grow,” Barkley said last week. “And Charleston has a lot going for it. So in terms of timing, it’s excellent timing.”

Lee & Associates Charleston was formed by the owners of Anchor Commercial Real Estate Services, who in February dropped that name after 13 years and affiliated with a national brand to make inroads in the Southeast.

“They’ve taken a company and grown it not only through the good times but the not-so-good times,” said Barkley, whose former firm focused on leasing and property management.

Lee & Associates Charleston now has a staff of 22, including 14 brokers.

Bob Nuttall, one of the founding principals, called the merger “a natural fit.”

“Frankly we would have had to force this thing not to happen,” he said.

The deal gives Lee & Associates a presence on the peninsula in The Barkley Co.’s offices on East Bay Street. Barkley has been in the local commercial real estate business for more than 25 years.

Before starting The Barkley Co. in early 2010, Barkley was an owner of Grubb&Ellis|Barkley Fraser and The Barkley/Fraser Co.