Mark Sparrow To tap into growing interest from investors within and outside of Canada eager to penetrate the country’s high barrier-to-entry hotel market, JLL today announced the firm is expanding its Hotels & Hospitality presence with the addition of Senior Vice Presidents Mark Sparrow and Luke Scheer. Sparrow and Scheer, who bring more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, will be based in the firm’s Toronto office. “During the past several years we have made a strategic effort to hire the market’s leading talent, bolstering our platform with Canada’s best and brightest,” said Brett Miller, President of JLL Canada. “Mark and Luke are two of the dominant hotel investment sales experts in the country. We fully expect them to embrace our well-established global hotels & hospitality platform and create new avenues for our clients.” Sparrow and Scheer previously held positions with a global real estate firm where combined they were involved in more than 75 hotel transactions worth in excess of $2 billion including high-profile transactions across the country. “Canadian investors are some of the most prolific commercial real estate investors in the world and also some of the savviest. Further, international investors are taking a closer look at Canada given its growing economy and robust lodging industry fundamentals. We have been seeking an entry into Canada’s hotel market and Mark and Luke are a perfect fit for JLL,” added Arthur Adler, Managing Director and CEO, Americas for JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group. “They have proven industry experience, excellent relationships and are a natural extension of our already strong Americas and global hotel transactions team. Sparrow and Scheer formerly worked as regional directors for Western Canada and Eastern Canada respectively, where they gained extensive knowledge of the disposition of assets. Sparrow, who graduated from Ryerson University’s Hospitality & Tourism Management program, has spoken at numerous industry events such as the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference, Western Canadian Hotel & Resort Investment Conference, IHG Owners conference and Ryerson University. Scheer, who has worked for real estate firms as well as real estate investment trusts (REITs), offers a wealth of knowledge across hotel and resort assets throughout Canada.