Partners Capital JV Launches Private Bridge Lender Platform

By Gail Kalinoski

Los Angeles—Archway Fund, a private bridge lender that will provide financing for Western U.S. opportunistic and value-add commercial real estate transactions in the $2 million to $15 million range, has been launched as a joint venture between Partners Capital and an investment management firm.

Mark Reese

Partners Capital, a Los Angeles-based private commercial real estate fund, did not identify the joint venture partner by name but noted it has worked with the firm in the past and described it as a $700 million investment management firm based in the Western United States.

The joint venture is expected to create a “more flexible and competitive company” by integrating departments that should translate into increased production. While operating under the Partners Capital Umbrella, the loan production division, Partners Capital Finance, provided $80 million in loans during 2016. Under the JV, the division will be equipped to deploy $100 million within the next 12 months.

It will operate independently of Partners Capital under the direction of Mark Reese, who joined the firm as a consultant to organize the platform rollout. As part of the transition, his new title will be vice president of loan origination and he will be tasked with building the transaction pipeline.

Archway Fund will provide primarily first trust deed loans up to 75 percent LTV for transactions that can’t obtain conventional CRE financing for reasons including quick closing deadlines, high vacancy rates and tenant turnover, and credit issues with the sponsor or manager. Terms will be up to 24 months. The fund will focus on investor single-family residences, apartments, office, industrial and retail properties throughout the Western U.S.

“Archway’s strengths are primarily derived from nimble capital which positively impacts our entire process from low closing costs, quick decision, multi-state coverage, and non-punitive renewal options,” Reese said in a prepared statement.

Reese has extensive experience in early-stage, privately capitalized debt platforms, most recently at Buchanan Street Partners of Newport Beach, Calif. He has also worked as a loan originations analyst and underwriter for a major insurance company and as acquisition and financial analysts at private real estate firms.

“Archway will be stepping into a much more competitive environment than I encountered in 2010 and 2014 during the rollout of other platforms,” Reese said. “Executive is everything and I’ve learned that the investment required to deliver a flawless term sheet yields a borrower signature on the first iteration. The term sheet drops into the loan committee impact nearly intact, which in turn flies through the loan committee, and finally makes its way into the loan agreement, intact. This perfectly executed term sheet encapsulates the predictable process we strive to achieve.”