Newmark Knight Frank Chairman Jeffrey Gural is stepping down to head up his own family's firm as NKF approaches its initial public offering.

Gural announced the rebranding of Newmark Holdings, the family's property-owning company, as GFP Real Estate, where he will serve as chairman. The rebranding is to avoid confusion for NKF ahead of its IPO, the company said in a press release. His son Eric is co-CEO with Brian Steinwurtzel. Jeffrey Gural will retain the title of chairman emeritus at NKF.

“Everything about [GFP Real Estate] — our team, our properties, our philosophy, our commitment to our tenants and our partners — remains the same, except the name,” Gural said. “We play an important leadership role in the New York market and we will continue to work closely with our colleagues at Newmark Knight Frank to maintain the highest level of operations. In particular, I look forward to continuing our relationship with Barry Gosin, Newmark’s CEO and a longtime friend and partner in our investments.”

The rebranding of GFP comes on the heels of NKF dropping Grubb from its name in June, attempting to consolidate its brand. Spinning off Newmark Holdings was also a goal of NKF's parent company, BGC Partners, ahead of the IPO, after which time it will focus on real estate services.

Founded by Gural's father, Aaron, in 1952 as Newmark & Co., GFP owns 44 buildings all across the city, including the iconic Flatiron Building and 1560 Broadway, and totals 10.2M SF of real estate across the Tri-State region. It will maintain its offices in 125 Park Ave. beside NKF to further a long-standing collaboration.