A Nashville investor has purchased the home of one of Chattanooga's biggest accounting firms, but the sale will not change the location or growth of the company, officials said Friday.
JHM Certified Public Accountants, whose principals acquired their office on Olan Mills Drive off of Shallowford Road in 2016, sold the property last month but will maintain its 45-employee office in the facility.
"We'd been approached a few times in the past four years about doing a sale-leaseback, but I'd always refused to consider it, for fear we'd outgrow the building," said Dean Krech, a CPA and managing partner for JHM. "However, with the transitioning of today's workforce to remote environments and the more frequent hiring of remote team members, I now see the space accommodating us for a while longer. So upon receiving a terrific private investment offer, I pulled the trigger on sale/leaseback to a wonderful investment group."
Pete Delay of Lynnwood Ventures LLC in Nashville purchased the 12,880-square-foot building at 2215 Olan Mills Drive for $3.42 million, or more than twice the $.45 million purchase price paid by JHM Real Estate Partners in early 2016.
"I'm a Tennessee native and I think Chattanooga is a fabulous place where I own a number of properties," Delay said Friday. "We hope JHM stays in this building for many years to come."
Krech said the accounting firm "is firmly committed to the Chattanooga and surrounding markets, while also looking to expand our geographic footprint.
"Our CPA firm, now in its 43rd year, is well-positioned for the future and occupies a place in the top 1% of CPA firms nationally, Krech said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.