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Industrial

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    $22,000,000 Bridge Loan for Industrial Land in a Western State

    December 7, 2023

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners successfully arranged a $22,000,000 loan for 92 acres of entitled land in Apex, a pioneering new growth area in a Western State. While some of the adjacent land has recently traded, utilities and roads are currently under construction. The Sponsor will build over 1 million square feet of industrial buildings and is currently talking to potential equity partners. The Sponsor had retained a national mortgage brokerage company that was unable to locate any financing for the Sponsor. The Sponsor approached GSP eight weeks prior to their maturity date to assist in the refinance. GSP completed a full marketing and identified two competitive lenders that could reach the desired proceeds level and close quickly. One of the lenders had significantly more local market experience providing more surety of close.

     

    Rate: Confidential

    Term: 18 Months

    Origination Fee: 1.5%

    Exit Fee: 0.50%

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    $34,000,000 Bridge Loan for Multi-Tenant Industrial Building Complex; South Western State

    November 3, 2023

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners arranged a $34,000,000 bridge loan for a newly constructed, “Class A,” Multi-Tenant Industrial Complex in Mesa, AZ. The purpose of the loan is to replace the maturing construction loan with a lower cost bridge financing and to provide an additional one-and-a-half-year runway to complete the Sponsors’ business plan. The 173,000 SF property is currently 66% leased.

    The new bridge loan term of eighteen months provides the flexibility to either lease up and exit quickly with a six-month minimum interest requirement or play the field for an extended period.

    Term: 18 Months with Two 6-Month Extensions
    Prepayment: 6 Months Minimum Interest
    Guaranty: Non-Recourse

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    $14,000,000 Construction Financing for a 110,929 SF Industrial Project; Western State

    October 18, 2023

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners secured $14,000,000 in construction financing for an industrial project in a western state. The project is a 110,929 SF, 100% spec industrial development in an attractive industrial submarket.

    GSP canvassed banks, credit unions, and debt funds to find a lender that was comfortable with the business plan, which included no preleasing before construction. GSP worked with the Lender and Borrower to structure a loan which provided 65% of the costs to construct, lease, and stabilize the building. As well as a term of 30 months to provide sufficient time to complete the lease-up after completion of construction. The loan was also structured to provide an upsized 10 year perm loan option upon stabilization.

    During structuring negotiations, the Lender acquired a competitor and there were market rumors that they were suspending all lending to digest the acquisition. GSP diligenced the market and arranged supplemental calls with the Lender and the Borrower- resulting in the Borrower having well-placed confidence that the loan would not only close but also on the quoted terms.

    Rate: SOFR + 3%
    Term: 30 Months with an option for an upsized 10 Year Perm Loan
    Amortization: Interest Only
    Guaranty: Recourse with Burnoff upon Achieving Performance Hurdles

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    $1,500,000 Permanent Financing for Single-Tenant Industrial Building; Downtown Los Angeles, CA

    September 20, 2023

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners successfully closed a refinance of a single-tenant industrial building in Downtown Los Angeles with a life insurance company. Given the strong market and property type, GSP arranged very attractive financing that required no on-going reserves of any kind. This was important as the Sponsor did not want the lender to reserve for the lease roll which occurs the same year as the loan maturity. The lender also locked their interest rate at application signing which saved the Sponsor over 65 basis points as rates climbed significantly during processing and closing of the loan.

    Rate: 6.125%
    Term: 5 years Fixed
    Amortization: 25 years
    LTV: 40%
    Prepayment: Yield Maintenance
    Lender Fee: 1%
    Guaranty: Recourse

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    $69,000,000 Construction financing for 2 Industrial Build-to-Suit Properties; Virginia

    July 5, 2023

    Transaction Description:
    George Smith Partners successfully arranged $69,000,000 in financing for the ground-up construction of an over 1,000,000 SF industrial build-to-suit development in Virginia. The loan has a term of two years with one, 12-month extension option and is 62% of cost.

    Located near the Port of Virginia, the project involves the construction of two industrial facilities, one in Suffolk, VA, and another in Portsmouth, VA. The Sponsor has undertaken this Class A build-to-suit development project in response to the pressing need for high-quality industrial space in a market with extremely limited supply and minimal vacancy.

    LTC: 62%
    Term: 2 Years + One 12 Month Extension

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    $4,500,000 Owner User Office/Industrial Refinance; Los Angeles, CA

    June 28, 2023

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners successfully secured $4,500,000 to refinance a mixed-use office and industrial property in Los Angeles, CA. Our Sponsor had contacted one of his relationship banks to refinance his headquarters building. With the current crisis in lending, they were not able to provide a satisfactory refinance. The Sponsor then engaged GSP to secure financing. In reviewing the Sponsor’s financials, GSP identified significant growth and was able to secure a much larger cash-out refinance of the sponsor’s facility.

    Using our relationships and experience, GSP identified an international bank that was able to provide a more aggressive rate and larger proceeds than the other lenders in the market. In 35 days, GSP was able to close this cash-out refinance at a fixed rate of 5.61% for 5 years, with 12 months of interest-only payments.

    Rate: 5.61% Fixed
    Term: 5 Years
    Amortization: 25 Years
    Interest Only: 12 Months

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    Bridge Financing for Office/Industrial Asset; Los Angeles, CA

    September 8, 2022

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners arranged $3,600,000 in bridge financing of a 30,000 SF office/industrial Property located in Downtown Los Angeles. When the Sponsor engaged GSP, the Sponsor was in the midst of repositioning the Asset from a multi-tenant investment property into a full owner-user use. Because the previous lender did not allow for the reposition, GSP quickly arranged a multi-phase refinance process.

    The first phase was to take out the existing Lender by securing a $3,600,000 non-recourse bridge loan in just 7 days to avoid a technical default with the previous lender. This bridge loan was secured at 6.50% interest only on a two-year term, and a 1.00% origination fee. In today’s market, bridge loans of this nature usually start at 8.00% -10.00% interest rates with more expensive origination fees, but GSP was able to leverage its relationships to secure a more affordable option for their client. The loan has no prepayment penalty or exit fee.

    The second phase of this financing that is set to close in 60-90 days will be a long-term SBA loan which will net the Borrower over $5,000,000 of cash-out at a below market rate with 3 years of interest only on a 10 year term. GSP was able to handle the Borrower’s financing needs smoothly and quickly, allowing the Borrower to focus on expanding their business and take over their asset as an owner-user.

    Rate: 6.50% Fixed, Interest Only
    Term: 24 Months
    LTV: 55%
    Prepayment: No Prepayment
    Closing Timeline: 7 Calendar Days

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    $4,800,000 Permanent Acquisition Financing of Industrial Park; Pflugerville, TX

    February 16, 2022

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners arranged $4,800,000 in financing for the acquisition of a six-building, fully occupied industrial park in Pflugerville, Texas. The Sponsor, a repeat client, was selling another property in which the existing financing had a prepayment penalty. GSP leveraged its strong relationship with the lender of the Property being sold to successfully negotiate a reduction of the prepayment penalty by providing this Lender the opportunity to finance the purchase of the industrial park. The Lender offered a permanent, recourse loan at 3.68% fixed for the first five years based on the original property’s existing loan from 2019. The new loan term is ten years with a 30-year amortization.

    Rate: 3.68% Fixed for first five years
    Term: 10 Years
    Amortization: 30 Years
    LTC: 48%
    Guaranty: Recourse

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    $27,300,000 Non-Recourse Construction Financing for Multi-Tenant Spec Industrial Development; Mesa, AZ

    January 18, 2022

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners arranged $27,300,000 in non-recourse construction financing for the development of a 173,193 SF, Class-A, light industrial project in Mesa, AZ. The Project will consist of smaller unit sizes in 10 total buildings ranging in size from 2,500 to 15,000 SF.

    Challenges:

    This Project was built entirely to spec. Tenants signing smaller leases typically do not pre-lease space before a project breaks ground. Due to supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures, raw materials and labor costs increased significantly. While there have been many large box industrial projects developed in the market, there has been limited development of small bay product and therefore limited comparable lease and sales transactions. Most of the Sponsor team are foreign nationals whose assets lie outside of the United States.

    Solution:

    GSP successfully obtained several financing options and selected a lender who had flexible execution, a strong understanding of the growing demand for small bay industrial space and was comfortable with rising construction prices. GSP arranged a co-guarantor to subsidize the non-recourse carve-out guarantees.

    Rate: L + 6.50% with 0.10% Floor
    Term: 24 months + (1) 6-month extension
    LTC: 80%
    2% origination fee, 0% exit fee

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    $13,000,000 Non-Recourse Construction Financing for a 144,000 SF Industrial Property; Madera, CA

    January 5, 2022

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners successfully arranged the non-recourse, construction financing of a 144,000 SF flex-industrial property in Madera, California. The Property is a 74-unit flex industrial/warehouse that will serve the underserved small-scale user. The Sponsors are capitalizing on the very low vacancy rate in the Madera/Fresno industrial market. The Sponsors are very knowledgeable on the market but have not yet completed a ground-up construction project. Their lack of direct experience and the smaller market made it difficult for many lenders to provide the financing. George Smith Partners was able to educate the selected lender on the need for this product in the market and the industrial experience of the Sponsorship which allowed them to get comfortable with the transaction and provide very favorable financing.

    Rate: 7.00% + LIBOR
    Term: 24 Months with Two Six-Month Extension Options
    LTV: 65%
    LTC: 70%
    Amortization: Full Term Interest Only
    Prepayment: 12 Months’ Minimum Interest
    Guaranty: Non-Recourse

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    $9,000,000 for the Refinancing of a 7,100 SF Office; Southern California & 28,500 SF Industrial Facility; Colorado

    January 5, 2022

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners successfully secured $9,000,000 for the refinancing of two single-tenant assets in Southern California and Colorado. The Southern California industrial property had challenges due to the high dollar per square foot. The Colorado asset had challenges due to the tertiary location. In addition, the tenant for both properties had credit issues.
    Despite the risks associated, GSP was able to successfully navigate these hurdles. This execution is fixed at 4.25% for 5 years and was sized to 75%.

    Rate: SWAP + 3.00% (floor of 4.25%).
    Term: 10 Years
    LTV: 75%

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    $3,500,000 10-Year Full Term Interest-Only Permanent Financing, 40,000 SF Industrial Business Park; Murrieta, CA

    November 3, 2021

    Transaction Description:

    George Smith Partners secured $3,500,000 in non-recourse debt to refinance a Southern California industrial business park. The Property is a 40,000 square foot, 100% occupied, industrial/flex building, majority occupied by automotive tenants. The financing takes out the existing debt, distributes capital for a significant roof repair, and redistributes equity to the Sponsor. The loan was underwritten to 60% LTV. The 10-year full term interest structure maximizes cash flow for the Sponsor. The fixed-rate loan priced at 1.80% over the 10-year SWAP.

    Rate: 3.42% (1.80% over the 10 Year SWAP)
    Term: 10 Years
    Amortization: Full-term Interest-Only
    Loan to Value: 60%
    Guaranty: Non-recourse
    Lender Fee: Par
    Prepayment: Defeasance