SARATOGA, Calif. – (Feb. 11, 2008) – Alain Pinel Realtors’ President & COO Larry Knapp announced that the company has established an Investment Group, which will consist of experienced investment property specialists serving San Francisco and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. The move represents a significant expansion of service offerings from the traditional residential brokerage house, which was launched with a single office in 1990, has since grown to 27 Northern California offices and has a strong reputation for selling high-end and luxury single-family homes.Concurrently, Alain Pinel Realtors named Stephen Pugh as Investment Group Managing Director. Mr. Pugh formerly was an Investment Specialist at Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate and has more than 20 years experience in the investment-property arena with career sales volume through 2007 totaling an impressive $820 million.He has consistently been among the top volume producing agents in the entire GMAC organization nationally and was number one in 2005, with total sales volume of $105 million. In 2007 with $92 million in total sales volume and 22 properties sold, Mr. Pugh was among the top five producing real estate professional in the GMAC organization. His highest profile sale last year was a six-story trophy apartment building in San Francisco’s prestigious Pacific Heights neighborhood. Built in 1939, 2235 Laguna Street is more than 42,000 square feet and residents enjoy views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay. The property sold for $19 million.Joining Alain Pinel Realtors in addition to Mr. Pugh and his team of Jim Murphy and Michael Johnston in the new investment group is Morgan Thomas, another top producing commercial agent from Pacific Union. The new group will be headquartered in APR’s newly acquired Investment Group office located at 2001 Union Street (Suite 200), in San Francisco.“We are delighted to have retained the services of these accomplished commercial and investment real estate professionals,” said Tim Murray, Vice President and Regional Manager for San Francisco and the North Bay. “With 27 offices in Northern California, we generate so many referral opportunities from residential-to-commercial and from commercial-to-residential, that now we can capitalize on these leads while offering clients a new and expanded service platform,” said Mr. Murray. Tim Murray joined APR in April last year from Pacific Union. Mr. Pugh, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Johnston indicated that their decision to join Alain Pinel Realtors was made in part based on their previous experience with Mr. Murray and his positive leadership style.Alain Pinel Realtors plans to expand the Investment Group by establishing a commercial presence on the San Francisco Peninsula, Silicon Valley and the East Bay. Under the leadership of Mr. Pugh, APR’s goal is to build an investment specialist organization of approximately 15 professionals. The group will market and sell large and mid-size apartment communities, luxury/boutique multifamily buildings, tenancy-in-common (TICs) buildings, retail centers, boutique hotels and commercial office properties.For Stephen Pugh, age 50, leaving Pacific Union after 18 successful years for Alain Pinel Realtors was a difficult decision but one made with compelling reasons: “I’m excited by the opportunity to grow an entity and have the support and enthusiasm of local, private ownership with a terrific management team. Alain Pinel Realtors is highly respected, very strong regionally and should provide a strong base from which we can build an investment services group,” said Mr. Pugh.A Sausalito resident with memberships in the San Francisco Yacht Club and St. Francis Yacht Club, he is bringing $50 million in active listings to Alain Pinel Realtors. Most prominent among them are a 108-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail anchored by Rite Aid Drug Store at 1330 Bush Street in San Francisco (offered at $34,950,000) and a 12-unit multifamily building at 1801 Jackson Street with an asking price of $4.5 million.About Alain Pinel RealtorsAlain Pinel Realtors is the largest privately owned and independent residential real estate company in California. Locally owned, the firm had sales volume of $7.2 billion in 2007 and has been consistently ranked in the Top 10 firms in the United States based on total sales volume. It was founded in 1990 by its current Chairman and CEO Mr. Paul Hulme and is based in Saratoga, Calif. Alain Pinel Realtors has redefined the business of residential real estate and now has 27 prestigious and luxurious offices serving Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Alain Pinel Realtors served 6,000 clients in 2007 with an average sales price of more than $1.2 million. Alain Pinel Realtors is a founding member of Luxury Portfolio, an operating unit of The Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (formerly RELO). APR has a joint venture partnership in the mortgage lending institution Private Mortgage Advisors, which is an affiliate of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. For a complete listing of Alain Pinel Realtors offices, services and agents, please visit our website at www.apr.com or call 408-741-1111.