Nai Desco

What Nai Desco does

NAI DESCO is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and property management firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 2000 through a partnership between the Schnuck family and experienced commercial real estate brokers. The firm operates as the exclusive St. Louis affiliate of NAI Global, a global commercial real estate network spanning 325 offices and 36 countries. Its core offering is brokerage and advisory services organized across property types — office, industrial, retail, multifamily, medical office, land, and investment properties — supplemented by tenant representation, landlord representation, and property management services.

The firm is built on a team of 19 brokers averaging 20 years of experience (400+ combined years), with principals holding SIOR and CCIM designations. NAI DESCO serves owners/investors, tenants/occupiers, developers, and industrial users across Missouri and Southern Illinois, with multi-market reach enabled through the NAI Global network. Its technology stack includes a proprietary CRE brokerage platform integrated with NAI Global systems and a project management technology for client-facing transaction coordination; no AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based brokerage commissions on commercial property sales and leases, supplemented by managed property management services. Customer work spans enterprise retail tenants (Advanced Auto Parts, Kohl's, Schnucks, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, Raising Cane's), home improvement (Menards), education, telecommunications, and media, with $3.4B in cumulative transaction value across thousands of deals since founding. The firm operates as a privately held, locally owned entity with no external institutional investment signals.

Name

Nai Desco

Legal name

NAI DESCO

Website

https://naidesco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NAI DESCO is a full-service St. Louis commercial real estate brokerage and property management firm serving owners, investors, tenants, and developers across Missouri and Southern Illinois, operating as the exclusive NAI Global affiliate with 19 brokers and 25+ years of local market experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Brokerage Commissions: Transaction-based commissions on commercial property sales and lease transactions. Commercial real estate brokers are typically compensated through a commission paid as part of a lease or sale transaction.
2. Property Management Services: Property management services for commercial properties

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NAI DESCO is a full-service commercial real estate firm that helps businesses, investors, landlords, and tenants buy, sell, lease, and manage commercial real estate throughout the St. Louis region. The firm delivers brokerage, leasing, tenant representation, landlord representation, investment sales, property management, and development services across office, industrial, retail, land, multifamily, and medical office property types. As St. Louis' exclusive NAI Global affiliate, it combines deep local market expertise with access to a worldwide network of commercial real estate professionals.

Product overview

NAI DESCO is a full-service commercial real estate firm operating as a unified platform of integrated service lines rather than a modular software product. The core offering consists of brokerage and advisory services organized by property type: Office Real Estate Services, Industrial Real Estate Services, Retail Real Estate Services, Investment Sales, Land Services, Multifamily Services, and Medical Office Services. These services are complemented by Tenant Representation and Landlord Representation capabilities. The firm also maintains a Property Management operation and publishes proprietary research products including Industrial Market Reports and newsletters. Notable projects include Crossroads Center, a 176-acre mixed-use development in Moscow Mills, and featured listings such as Commerce Bank Tower in Clayton, MO. The company operates as the St. Louis affiliate of NAI Global, connecting local expertise with a global network of over 5,800 commercial real estate professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Property Sales Brokerage services helping owners and investors buy and sell office, industrial, retail, multifamily, and development properties throughout the St. Louis market.
• Commercial Leasing Representation services for landlords and tenants in leasing office, industrial, retail, and mixed-use commercial space.
• Tenant Representation Strategic services helping businesses identify, evaluate, and negotiate office, industrial, and retail space to support their growth.
• Landlord Representation Services working with landlords to market properties, attract qualified tenants, negotiate leases, and improve occupancy rates.
• Investment Sales Advisory services helping clients acquire, sell, and reposition investment properties across the St. Louis market.
• Industrial Real Estate Services Specialized services for industrial buildings, warehouse space, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and development sites, including tenant representation, landlord representation, site selection, build-to-suit, and supply chain real estate consulting.
• Office Real Estate Services Office property transaction services including acquisitions, dispositions, leases, subleases, lease renewals, expansions, build-to-suits, sale/leasebacks, and tax-free exchanges.
• Retail Real Estate Services Retail brokerage services including tenant representation, landlord representation, site selection, lease negotiation, disposition, investment sales, and retail development strategy.
• Land Services Land brokerage and advisory services including site selection, environmental analysis, valuation, acquisition, due diligence, and development or redevelopment planning.
• Multifamily Services Specialized services for multifamily owners, developers, and investors including capital markets expertise, buyer/seller database access, and acquisition opportunities.
• Medical Office Services Real estate services for healthcare providers ranging from single practitioners to multi-specialty groups and hospital systems, including tenant/landlord representation, sales, leasing, property management, and development of medical facilities.
• Property Management Property management services led by senior property management staff handling commercial real estate portfolio operations.
• Crossroads Center A 176-acre mixed-use commercial development located at Highway 61 and Crossroads Boulevard in Moscow Mills, Missouri, offering flexible parcels ranging from 1 to 72 contiguous acres for retail, industrial, multifamily, hospitality, and self-storage uses.
• Commerce Bank Tower A new Class A+ office building in Clayton, MO delivering in 2022, with up to three floors available for lease and street-level retail/restaurant spaces, featuring attached covered parking, garden terrace, and fitness club.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.4B in completed transactions across St. Louis region
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NAI GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAI DESCO is the St. Louis exclusive affiliate of NAI Global, a leading global commercial real estate platform. This partnership provides clients access to more than 5,800 commercial real estate professionals across 325 offices in 36 countries. The firm combines deep local market expertise with the resources and collaboration of an international network.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CBRE Group: Largest global commercial real estate services firm offering brokerage, investment sales, property management, and advisory across all major asset classes. Overlaps directly with NAI DESCO's full-service CRE platform but operates at vastly larger scale with global coverage.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global CRE services and investment management firm with comparable service lines (brokerage, tenant representation, capital markets, property management). Competes for the same institutional owners, investors, and enterprise tenants in the St. Louis market.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Global CRE services firm with full-service brokerage, valuation, and advisory capabilities. Directly competes for multi-market mandates and enterprise tenant representation in the same U.S. secondary markets NAI DESCO serves.
• Newmark Group: Full-service global CRE advisory firm offering leasing, investment sales, property management, and consulting. Competitively positioned versus NAI DESCO for office, industrial, and retail mandates in U.S. secondary markets.
• Avison Young: Privately held global CRE services firm providing brokerage, project management, and advisory. Comparable ownership profile (private, partner-led) and similar full-service positioning versus NAI DESCO.
• Colliers International: Global professional services and investment management firm specializing in CRE brokerage, project management, and valuation. Competes for office, industrial, retail, and investment-sales mandates in the St. Louis region.

Direct peers

• SVN International: Global CRE franchise with affiliate offices across the U.S. providing brokerage, advisory, and property management. Operates on a structurally similar affiliate-network model to NAI DESCO's NAI Global relationship.
• Sperry Commercial Global Affiliates: National CRE franchise network offering brokerage, property management, and advisory through regional affiliates. Closely mirrors NAI DESCO's affiliate-network distribution model and full-service CRE positioning in mid-tier U.S. markets.
• Lee & Associates: Privately held, partner-owned CRE brokerage firm operating through a network of regional offices across North America. Highly comparable ownership/governance model and full-service brokerage platform versus NAI DESCO.
• Marcus & Millichap: Specialized CRE investment-sales brokerage focused on commercial property transactions, particularly multifamily, retail, office, and industrial. Directly comparable to NAI DESCO's investment sales and brokerage lines on a transaction-economy basis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/naidesco
• Xx.com/naidesco
• Facebookfacebook.com/naidesco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nai Desco