Emerald Creek Capital finances three loans in two weeks

In today's economy, borrowers continue to struggle when searching for commercial financing options. Given the lack of capital supply, even the strongest sponsors are relying more heavily upon alternative financing sources. As traditional lenders continue to tighten their belts, new sources of capital have emerged. Firms like Emerald Creek Capital, a New York based private equity fund, have begun to thrive. In the past two weeks, Emerald Creek Capital has financed three commercial loan transactions. All of the loans were secured on prime commercial real estate owned by strong credit sponsors. "Under normal market conditions these loans would have gone conventional" said Mark Penna, a managing partner at the fund. "We are seeing an abundance of quality lending opportunities in the commercial real estate sector." The first closing was secured by a 5,000 s/f commercial building in Norwalk, Conn. Emerald Creek provided cash out proceeds to assist with the acquisition of a separate building in Southern N.J. The purchase contract was in danger of expiring and required a time of the essence closing. The second transaction was secured by real estate in Kokomo, Ind. and was a purchase of a 10,000 s/f office building which contained a long term lease with a government tenant (GSA). Emerald Creek provided a loan commitment in three days to ensure that the borrower's 1031 exchange requirements were met. The third loan was secured by a commercial building in Williamsport, Pa. That loan enabled the owner to take advantage of a discount offered by the existing lien holder. Emerald Creek's typical transaction size ranges from $1 - $10 Million, well below the radar of most Wall Street investment banks. While the financing is not cheap, it comes with less red tape and faster execution than a regional or community bank can offer. According to Mr. Penna, all three transactions would have met conventional financing parameters 4 years ago. "Over the past 6 months we have received over 5,000 loan requests", explains Mr. Penna, "and while we turn down the vast majority, we are seeing incredible demand for high quality transactions and we expect this trend to continue".