Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc. Recognizes Top Leasing Brokers with Copper Awards for Leasing Exc

Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc. Recognizes Top Leasing Brokers with Copper Awards for Leasing Excellence

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Each year, Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc. ("Cole"), a diversified real estate company, recognizes the many outstanding leasing brokers and firms the company works with via the Cole Copper Awards for Leasing Excellence program. In its third year, the Cole Copper Awards recognize the top professionals leasing available retail space within the Cole portfolio during the past year.

"Cole is proud to honor those leasing brokers who perform at the highest level each year with the Cole Copper Awards for Leasing Excellence," said Brett Sheets, senior vice president of leasing at Cole. "Of the many brokers our company partners with across the country, these individuals and teams represent the 'best-of-the-best' and deserve to be recognized for their hard work, dedication and exceptional deal making skills."

The Leasing Broker-of-the-Year award was presented to Craig Kopko of North American Properties-SE, Inc., located in Fort Myers, FL. Kopko and North American Properties have worked with Cole for five years, and the team currently leases four assets for the company representing approximately one million square feet. Kopko was recognized for his tenacity and exemplary networking skills. Even in challenging market conditions, he was able to close five new lease transactions in the past year.

Additional recipients of Cole Copper Awards for Leasing Excellence include:

Best New Leasing Team:Stacey Gilham of Edge Realty Partners in Texas. Gilham was recognized for her work on a grocery-anchored Cole property outside of Austin that had eight vacant suites. In just over a year, she has successfully leased more than half of the vacancies.

Most Transactions:Shane Stephens of RED Development in Phoenix was recognized for the most new lease transactions in the Cole portfolio during the past year. Known for his professionalism, Stephens represents Cole in four Arizona properties totaling more than one million square feet. He successfully negotiated nine lease transactions.

Best Prospector:Genny Hall and Christin Jones of CNL Commercial Real Estate in Orlando. The team leases three assets for Cole in eastern Florida representing approximately 600,000 square feet. Hall and Jones were honored for exceeding expectations, including helping new operators navigate through the many levels of a lease transaction.

Allegiance Award:Liz Krebs and Katie Hennegan of Mid-America Asset Management in Chicago. The team was recognized for their diligence and persistence in leasing efforts, particularly for Broadview Village Square.

Allegiance Award:Fraser Gough and Benton Green of Retail Planning Corporation in Atlanta. Gough and Green currently lease five Atlanta-area assets for Cole, representing approximately one million square feet. Known for their enthusiasm and passion, the team has achieved nearly 100% occupancy rates at several of the assets they represent.

Allegiance Award:Brad Rosenberg and Gabriel Schuchman of Mid-America Asset Management in Detroit. This Mid-America team has grown with Cole as the company's presence in their market has increased to five properties, representing approximately 1.1 million square feet. Rosenberg and Schuchman are known for their research skills, and consistently provide useful market intelligence on both the local and national levels -- an invaluable tool for Cole in both leasing and acquisition efforts.

The Cole Copper Awards for Leasing Excellence were so named to reflect the copper coloring of the Cole logo, which has come to represent industry leadership and a high standard of excellence, while also demonstrating the value and importance of a precious metal integral to society. Similarly, award recipients have illustrated superior performance and made vital contributions through their efforts to maximize the value of Cole's portfolio of high-quality retail, office and industrial assets. Criteria for the Copper Awards include number and quality of transactions, accurate and timely completion of reports, professional marketing materials, market knowledge and prospecting prowess.

Through the end of May 2013, Cole's portfolio of owned and managed properties was 98.4% occupied with a weighted average lease term of 11.4 years. Since the beginning of 2012, Cole's leasing team, along with its leasing broker partners, has executed approximately 350 transactions totaling 2.25 million square feet of new and renewed leases with local, regional and national tenants.

About Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc.

Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc. (NYS: COLE) is an industry-leading net-lease REIT that acquires and manages real estate assets leased long-term to a high-quality, diversified tenant base. Since 1979, Cole has leveraged its deep relationships, efficiencies of scale and rigorous operational processes to acquire and actively manage retail, office and industrial properties. As of March 31, 2013, Cole Real Estate Investments owned $7.7 billion of gross assets, which included 1,013 properties representing approximately 43 million square feet of commercial real estate in 48 states. Through its private capital business, Cole Capital, Cole manages 1,031 additional properties with an aggregate purchase price of approximately $5.3 billion. To learn more, visit www.colereit.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Cole Real Estate Investments and Cole's management with respect to future events. Forward-looking statements about Cole's plans, strategies and prospects are based on current information, estimates and projections; they are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Forward-looking statements are not intended to be a guarantee of any event, action, result, outcome or performance in future periods. Cole does not intend or assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.

Cole Real Estate Investments, Inc.
John Bacon, 602-778-6000
Vice President, Marketing
john.bacon@ColeREIT.com
or
Jessica Thorsheim, 877-405-2653
Director, Investor Relations
Jessica.thorsheim@ColeREIT.com
or
Media Inquiries:
Great Ink Communications
Eric Waters, 212-741-2977
eric.waters@greatink.com
or
Tom Nolan, 212-741-2977
tom@greatink.com

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