CASE partners, from left: Jim Eagle, Tom Sutherland, John Conger, and John Bowles.

Two longtime boutique commercial real estate firms are joining forces. CASE Commercial Real Estate Partners is bringing John Bowles Co. into the fold. The combined organization will operate under the CASE brand.

The deal gives the combined company 35 real estate professionals (more than 80 total employees) in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. It also adds 4 million square feet of office, retail and flex inventory to CASE. The partners expect combined gross annual sales and leasing transaction volumes to hit $250 million.

John Bowles Co. has been in business since 1996. It specializes in office and retail project leasing, tenant representation, brokerage services, and property management. CASE, which was profiled last year in D CEO, was formed in 2008 when principals Tom Sutherland and John Conger acquired the service operations of GVA Cawley.

The deal gives CASE more bench strength and an ability to break into more North Texas markets, Conger said.

“The Texas market is primed for growth, and we wanted speed-to-market in growing our platform,” he said in a statement. “John Bowles is a well-known entity in this business, and he has built his company on the same culture and principals that we practice at CASE. There couldn’t be a better match.”

Bowles will join the firm as principal and focus on business development. He said he was drawn to the diverse specializations at CASE.

“My company became interested in joining a bigger platform to take advantage of elevated market opportunities,” he said in a statement.  “When it came down to it, we were most comfortable with the entrepreneurial and client-focused style of operation that CASE presented.”

Former JBC exec Mike Cagle will spearhead the retail service line for CASE, which includes 85 North Texas shopping centers.