Havas, the French advertising and communications giant headed by billionaire Vincent Bollore—owner of the lavish yacht that Nicolas Sarkozy famously borrowed for a much-criticized trip to Malta after winning the presidency—has hired Newmark Knight Frank’s David Falk to hunt for a sizable piece of Manhattan office space, somewhere in the 325,000- to 400,000-square-foot range, according to industry sources.
At the moment, Havas has offices scattered throughout the city, including at Trinity Church’s 350 Hudson Street and L&L Holding Company’s 195 Broadway, and at 110 Fifth Avenue, 200 and 501 Madison Avenue and 75 Ninth Avenue.
In January 2007, Trinity Church announced that Havas had renewed its lease for 162,000 square feet at 350 Hudson for five years. And in 2002, Havas’ Media Planning Group U.S.A. thrilled downtown landlords by signing the first large post-9/11 relocation from uptown, consolidating four separate offices into 72,000 square feet at 195 Broadway.
Havas did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Mr. Falk.
drubinstein@observer.com
