Graham Company

The Graham Company was founded in 1950 and is one of the largest privately held insurance brokerages companies in the Philadelphia region.  The firm engaged SSH Real Estate to evaluate its headquarters’ office lease at the eponymous Graham Building, One Penn Square West, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The Graham Company’s 200 employees occupy the top 8 floors of the building – totaling approximately 80,000 square feet in the heart of Center City Philadelphia across the street from City Hall. As the largest tenant and over 20-year occupant, The Graham Company benefits from naming rights and branding.

The Graham Company had renovated several floors; however, a large portion of its space needed renovations to bring it up to modern office standards. With 3 years remaining on the lease term, SSH was able to help The Graham Company analyze the market to understand all options.  Leveraging a potential relocation in discussions with the Landlord, SSH was able to negotiate a 10-year extension at favorable rates, that included significant “free-rent”, and a tenant improvement allowance that enabled the Graham Company to renovate its space. SSH’s guidance and vision, as we saw rents in the market increasing, enabled The Graham Company to make an accretive, fully informed decision 3 years prior to its lease expiration. As a result, The Graham Company was able to lock-in a rental rate approximately 15-20% below rates at the time of their lease expiration.