Experience
One of the founding partners of Hayes Commercial Group, Francois specializes in the sale and leasing of office and R&D properties in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria. He is extremely well versed in the representation of both tenants and landlords and brings a unique corporate focus to the Hayes Commercial team. In fact, he currently represents several of Santa Barbara’s publicly traded firms and was involved in the second largest office sale and the largest office lease ever recorded on the South Coast. In total, Francois has represented clients in more than 1,200 commercial transactions, totaling over 11 million square feet, and valued at more than $1.4 billion.
Francois has been a significant player in the Santa Barbara commercial real estate community since 1991. He brings an unmatched combination of marketing, negotiation, financial and market knowledge to all of his clients.
Fran is a board member and contributing author for the UCSB Economic Forecast Project. He is recognized in the Pacific Coast Business Times’ annual “Dealmakers” feature virtually every year.
Professional Background
2008 – Present:
Hayes Commercial, Partner, Founder
2004 – 2008:
Leider Hayes Commercial, Partner, Founder
1997 – 2004:
Blair Hayes Commercial, Partner
1991 – 1997:
Pacifica Commercial Realty, Broker
Education
Francois’ educational background is also firmly entrenched in the Santa Barbara community. He graduated summa cum laude in Business Economics from University of California at Santa Barbara, where he played intercollegiate soccer.
Affiliations / Awards
- UCSB Economic Forecast: Board member and Contributing Author
- California Economic Forecast: Contributing Author & Speaker
- Santa Barbara Middle School: Board member
- Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce: Board member
- Featured “Dealmaker” of the year 2008 – 2011 and 2013 – 2017, by the Pacific Coast Business Times
- Named one of the 40 under 40 leading business persons by the Pacific Coast Business Times in 2002
- California Bureau of Real Estate: Licensed Broker (lic. 01144570)
- Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service, Loopnet
Notable Clients & Transactions
Raytheon $41M sale of 208,000 sf office/R&D on 63 acres
Bermant Development $40M sale of 208,000 sf office/R&D on 28 acres
H&R Investments $29M sale of 102,000 sf office building on 10 acres and $23M sale of 105,000 sf office/R&D facility on 10 acres
Orfalea Family $25M sale of 120,000 sf office campus on 10 acres
Citrix Online $20M sale of 160,000 sf office/R&D on 15 acres
Matteson Partners $20M sale of 75,000 sf office on 4 acres
The Towbes Group $13M sale of 58,000 sf office/R&D on 7 acres
Ericsson 170,000 sf lease of 3 office buildings, 10 year leases
Citrix 160,000 sf lease of 6 office buildings, 5-10 year leases
Raytheon 165,000 sf lease of 2 R&D buildings, 5 year leases
Allergan 105,000 sf lease of R&D space, 15 year lease
SBB&T 102,000 sf lease of office, 10 year lease
Curvature 98,000 sf lease of office and industrial space, 7 year leases
AppFolio 80,000 sf lease of 2 office buildings, 5 year leases
Procore 60,000 sf lease of 3 office buildings, 7 year leases