SUFFOLK, Va., Jan. 19, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TowneBank (Nasdaq:TOWN) announced today the merger of GSH Real Estate, a wholly owned subsidiary, with Virginia Beach based Prudential Decker Realty and Prudential McCardle Realty of Williamsburg. The resulting new company, Prudential Towne Realty, will be one of the largest home marketing firms in Hampton Roads. With almost $1 billion in combined closings in 2008, Prudential Towne will rank among the top 5% of all Prudential franchises in the country.
"We are combining the strengths of the highly respected Prudential brand with the experience, talents and relationships of over 600 real estate professionals in the greater Hampton Roads area to bring more and better services to home buyers and sellers," said G. Robert Aston, Jr. Chairman and CEO of TowneBank. "In a 2008 Home Buyers/Sellers Study by J. D. Power and Associates, Prudential Real Estate was ranked highest in Seller Satisfaction. This recognition is indicative of the service quality our community can expect from Prudential Towne."
TowneBank will own 65% of the new company. The former owners of Prudential Decker and Prudential McCardle will control the balance.
The executive leadership of Prudential Towne will be provided by Barbara Wolcott as Chairman and CEO, Kimber Smith, President and Carol "Randy" Smith as Senior Vice President. Sandee Ferebee, formerly the President of GSH, will become Chairman Emeritus and will also serve on the company's board of directors.
J. Morgan Davis, President of Towne Financial Services Group, will also join the board along with Jon and Trey Decker.
In addition, Wolcott serves on the Virginia Beach board of TowneBank, Kimber Smith is a member of TowneBank's Williamsburg board, and Ferebee is a member of the bank's Hampton Roads Board.
"From a convenience perspective, Prudential Towne will serve the community from 12 locations throughout Hampton Roads," said Barbara Wolcott. "The best news, however, is that all three of these successful companies boast some of the best real estate talent in the region. Together they will be an unbeatable force. All of us are so excited about the future."
In addition to real estate brokerage activities, Prudential Towne will also offer full service residential property management and mortgage lending, as well as title and settlement services. "Having a full service, one stop delivery system will provide a real benefit to our clients," said Kimber Smith. "The quality will be extraordinary."
As one of Virginia's top community banks, TowneBank operates 17 banking offices in Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Williamsburg and York County. Towne also offers a full range of financial services through its controlled divisions and subsidiaries that include Towne Investment Group, Towne Insurance Agency, TFA Benefits, TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, GSH Real Estate Corporation, Corolla Classic Vacations and Corolla Real Estate. Local decision-making is a hallmark of its hometown banking strategy that is delivered through the leadership of each group's President and Board of Directors. With total assets of $3.13 billion as of December 31, 2008, TowneBank is one of the largest banks headquartered in Virginia.