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Mountain Real Estate Capital Announces First Five Opportunistic Acquisitions
CHARLOTTE—May 3, 2010—Mountain Real Estate Capital, the newly formed acquisition and investment affiliate of Mountain Funding, is pleased to announce the recent closing of its first five opportunistic acquisitions:- $75 million equity partnership with GL Homes of Florida to acquire assets from a major financial institution. The strategic partnership allowed GL to recapitalize seven different partnerships involving 8,300 acres and 6,500 home sites, plus capital for completion of additional lot inventory. There is a potential real estate sell-out in excess of $1.8 billion over an eight-year period. Closed within 27 days.
- REO purchase of a portfolio of 56 residential communities in the greater Atlanta area from Bank of North Georgia. The plan is to build out the larger projects in a joint venture with builder partners, and sell the remaining projects. Closed within 30 days.
- Equity joint venture with GreenPointe Communities of Florida to purchase, develop and sell two subdivisions located in Jacksonville. Closed within 20 days.
- Purchase of non-performing loan secured by an 80,000 square foot commercial building in South Carolina. Closed within 14 days.
- REO acquisition of 1,200 acres in southwestern Florida entitled for 1,000 dwelling units. Closed within 27 days.
Mountain Real Estate Capital is the equity investment arm of the Mountain Real Estate Group. Other affiliates include its lending group, Mountain Funding, LLC, and its management and special servicing group, Mountain Asset Management, LLC. The new investment entity is focused on three types of investments:
- Acquisition of bank REO and NPL portfolios
- Acquisition of opportunistic assets for its own account or in partnership with developers
- Joint ventures with national and regional homebuilders to develop and sell residential lots and houses.
Industry veterans Peter Fioretti, CEO; Arthur Nevid, CIO; Joel Kaul, managing director of real estate services; and Kevin Mast, CFO; head the company. Each has more than 20 years experience investing in and owning real estate.
“We've been a leading private capital provider since 1993, focusing on value-added residential and commercial opportunities,” said Fioretti. “But in the current environment, our focus is entirely on acquiring assets at distressed values, and providing equity capital in joint ventures with select developers and builders.
“Our underlying focus is relationships. We pride ourselves on being extremely responsive to our partners and sellers, and are generally able to close transactions within 30 days. We will invest with select real estate companies who have a track record in significantly enhancing value of their properties through entitlement, re-design, developing land or building houses.”
The Mountain Real Estate Group, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has origination and management offices in most major regions of the country. Many of its professionals joined in 2009 from GMAC-ResCap’s Business Capital Group, where they were responsible for the management and disposition of well over $2 billion of residential assets. Today, Mountain’s team is involved in the ownership or management of over $1 billion of property throughout the U.S.
“I believe there are several things that differentiate us from other opportunity funds,” said Nevid. “First, our equity fund is organized to invest $1 billion, allowing us to close very quickly as opportunities arise. Second, our principals are all experienced as real estate owners and developers, allowing us to quickly assess and approve even the most complex projects or financial structures. Additionally, we have broad collective knowledge of all major markets and property types.”
Kaul, who manages the origination effort for Mountain Real Estate Capital, headed up the group of professionals who came over from GMAC-ResCap. Other senior personnel in this group include Tom Mahathirath, Lance Franklin, Tom Orradre, Brian Clauson and Tom Clement.
“Our group agreed to join Mountain in 2009 based on its reputation as a dynamic and aggressive capital source at a point in the cycle which we felt would be rife with opportunity,” said Kaul. “We believe we bring strong experience and a network of developer/builder partners that greatly enhance Mountain’s investment program, and we expect to continue the success of our recent closings. Our focus with our developer/builder partners has shifted from restructuring and paying off debt to moving forward on new equity investments.”
Since 1993, The Mountain Real Estate Group, along with its affiliate Mountain Funding, has been a leading private capital source for real estate developers, builders and operators seeking to enhance value in their existing projects or to take advantage of new opportunities. In the current environment, developers and builders have been teaming up with Mountain Real Estate Capital nationally to capitalize on the opportunities currently available, either through the restructure of their existing equity or debt arrangements or the joint purchase of a newly identified distressed opportunity.
Media Contact
The Hoyt Organization
Amy Hanoa, ahanoa@hoytorg.com
