Transaction Overview
GSP sourced a two year bridge loan on a small 50% occupied shopping center in Los Angeles for a family trust embattled in disputes for control of the asset. The loan was closed in 10 days, to prevent the sponsorship from filing for bankruptcy and provided capital needed to pay off creditors, buyout family members and allow one of the family members to hold the asset long term.
Challenges:
The estate heirs of the estate were involved in a two year lawsuit over control and over the same time period some of the major tenants moved out with occupancy dropping below 50%. The lawsuit created a need for cash and impacted the heirs’ credit. Between the credit and occupancy issues, it was impossible to find conventual financing. In addition, the lack of cashflow lowered the capitalized value of the property and the lawsuits were pushing the sponsorship into Bankruptcy.
Solution:
The Shaffer team at GSP understood the diverse family dynamics, the overall value of asset and developed the strategy to quickly payoff the current debt and provide cash out to pay all the debts and buyout family members. Using GSPs expertise in equity recapitalizations, we were able to work out the disputes between the partners/family members and arraigned a quick five day bridge refinancing. We demonstrated to the capital provider that the long term value of the asset was only 65% of value even though the loan was 90% of the property’s capitalized value. In the end, the loan provided capital to buyout the family members, settle all legal claims and allow one of the heirs to hold the shopping center long term.
