After more than two decades working for a regional brokerage and development firm, Jubal Early has decided the time is right to launch a boutique shop of his own along with colleague André Collins.
Early and Collins, who spent the past six-plus years working together at Lincoln Harris, launched Charlotte, North Carolina-based First & Early Partners last week. At their new firm, they plan to focus on representing tenants and buyers and sellers of office, healthcare real estate, industrial and retail and to do some agency leasing for landlords.
"I was not an owner, principal or member of the executive team at LH and after 24 very enjoyable and successful years there, I needed a new challenge," Early, the firm's managing principal, said in a LinkedIn message. "I plan to work no more than 10 more years and creating my own legacy and doing what I love is important to me."
His book of business should help First & Early get off to a quick start, Early said.
"I have many loyal, devoted and growing clients who want to do business with me, regardless of the company name on my letterhead." he said. "Charlotte and the southeast will grow beyond our imaginations and I want to participate in that growth.
Early teamed with Collins, who began his career as a financial analyst at the Belk department store company before joining Lincoln Harris in 2016, because of his experience in commercial real estate and entrepreneurial spirit.
"He was being recruited weekly by our competitors and wanted to be a company owner," Early said of Collins, a principal of First & Early.
Similar to other cities in the South, Charlotte has experienced healthy population and job growth over the past decade. Charlotte is North Carolina's largest city with a population of nearly 880,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The influx of jobs and residents has prompted several developers to build or plan to build new office towers, especially in Charlotte's Uptown district. Apartment developers also are quite busy in the market, where construction starts reached an all-time high with nearly 5,000 new units breaking ground in both the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
Charlotte's bustling real estate market is well-positioned to be an even larger economic hub in the South, Early said.
“The growth of both Charlotte’s population and market size over the next several years will be astounding, and we are well positioned to help companies manage that growth from an investor, tenant or landlord point of view," he said. “Charlotte’s commercial real estate market has tremendous upside, and we saw a unique opportunity to leverage our experience into a boutique-style, high-touch advisory firm."
First & Early plans to add staff as its business grows, and Early said it expects to leverage its relationships with established firms, including Lincoln Harris, as it works to helps its clients with their real estate requirements.
“We value the contributions Jubal and André have made during their tenure at Lincoln Harris and look forward to working with them in the future,” Lincoln Harris President Johno Harris said in a statement.