Success Story: Cresa + Marathon Trading

When Marathon Trading, a fast-paced options trading firm, needed to expand and modernize their office, they turned to Cresa for expert guidance. With trading operations requiring seamless continuity and zero downtime, Marathon needed a space that balanced collaboration and efficiency. Chris Aitken led the charge, identifying the best options and negotiating favorable deal terms, while Cresa’s project management team—headed by Jeff Palmer and Rob Royal—ensured a smooth transition from planning through construction. The result? A dynamic, branded environment that feels tailor-made for Marathon Trading, fostering both teamwork and productivity.

Check out our latest testimonial video featuring Brian Gilbert, Marathon Trading’s Executive Vice President of Growth and Strategy, and Chris Aitken, as they share insights on the project and how Cresa made it happen!

Brian Gilbert

I’m Brian Gilbert, and I’m in charge of growth and strategy at Marathon Trading. Marathon Trading is an options trading firm. Our traders are doing it in real time. They are staring at the screens when markets open, so there really can’t be any downtime because we have positions and it’s critical that they have a good space to work in also.

Chris Aitken 

Two years ago they came to me saying hey were going to be in growth mode, the space is feeling tight. We want to evaluate expanding. Brian It’s a huge move that involves both designing, construction and the move itself. It really can be daunting and a complex process so we knew from day one we needed a team in place that could help with logistics, with the planning and coordination of that process.

Chris

From a transactional standpoint I was helping them determine what the options were what the deal terms looked like and what the financial implications of that would be looking out at a long term horizon and I also brought in two of our project managers to assist with the non-transactional component. What is this project going to cost approximately? How long is this going to take?

Brian

We weren’t aware that Cresa had a project management component and having not done any major moves, we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

Chris

Hiring the right architect was important. Bringing on the right engineer was going to be important. Bringing on the right general contractor was going to be very important. Furniture, everything that people just don’t think about. It’s a process and knowing the right people is important and there is costs to all of these.

Brian

It turned out really well and part of that was the project management team from day one, having a phased plan. If we had a question amongst the 30-member team that was managing this project, meaning the designers, the branders the construction team, we could go to Jeff or Rob as a single point of contact and they could answer our questions within 30 seconds or get back to us, and that was really helpful. The new space is great, it feels like it was built for marathon trading.

We’ve got a central space where the traders all sit, there is good collaboration, a couple shared spaces where traders can get up and play some billiards or after-hours poker. The branding, everything from the mural of Philadelphia to the big bull with the American flag, it all came together. I don’t think we could have done it without Cresa to be candid with you. I’m really happy I would recommend Cresa PM and Cresa in general to anyone considering a big office move.