Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust receives $7.8 million refinancing for Houston office building
Adam Lipkin, Vice President of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital's Miami team, has secured a $7.8 million refinancing for a Houston-area office building owned by a sovereign wealth fund operated by the Republic of Nauru, a South Pacific island nation
The 18-month loan was provided by a U.S-based crowdfunding real estate platform. With just under 10,000 inhabitants, Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation. Its government developed the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust to invest proceeds from a state-owned mining company.
In late 2015, Lipkin arranged a $6.2 million bridge loan for the trust, which has invested in numerous U.S. real estate assets over the years. The financing was secured by a 6-story, 138,633-square-foot single-tenant office building in the Clear Lake submarket of Houston.
The new loan facilitated by Lipkin provides a short-term financing solution for the property, which is mostly occupied by Jacobs Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded NASA contractor Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC). Jacobs provides technical, professional and construction services to various industrial, commercial and governmental clients.
“While conventional lenders are understandably challenged and conservative with terms these days, there are viable and creative lending options out there,” Lipkin said. “With lenders that are more focused on the underlying collateral value, there is flexibility with rates, terms and structures.”
Lipkin worked with the Trust’s experienced asset manager, Ben Jacobson, founder of Blackstone Consulting, a Miami-based asset management firm. Jacobson’s firm was hired by the Trust to assist with numerous challenges and improve the overall returns and marketability of the asset. Within the last 18 months, Jacobson solved prior management issues, renegotiated and extended the lease term, improved operations and returns before securing the financing through Grandbride.
“There aren’t many creative, outside the box commercial financing options, especially not for foreign-based borrowers,” Jacobson said. “We worked together to ensure the eventual lender would be thrilled to underwrite this asset in a strong office submarket.”
About Adam Lipkin
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital's Vice President Adam Lipkin has more than a dozen years of real estate finance experience. He joined Grandbridge's Miami team in 2014. Before that, Lipkin was with the Miami office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF), where he helped arrange more than $1.5 billion in financing as part of the firm's top-producing team in the nation. Earlier in his career, Lipkin worked in acquisitions at LNR Property and in the New York-based Real Estate Advisory practice of Ernst & Young. Lipkin earned a Master of Accounting and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Florida.
About Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), arranges permanent commercial and multifamily real estate loans; services loan portfolios; and provides asset and portfolio management through its broad investor base that includes insurance companies, CMBS investors, pension fund advisors, commercial banks and capital markets investors, as well as its proprietary lending platform, BB&T Real Estate Funding. The company is a Fannie Mae DUS® lender, a Freddie Mac Program Plus® Seller/Servicer, and an approved FHA MAP and LEAN healthcare lender. With a current servicing portfolio of more than $28.8 billion, Grandbridge, an S&P “Strong” rated servicer, services loan portfolios and provides asset and portfolio management nationwide for all capital providers including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, insurance companies, banks and more than 250 securitizations. For more information about Grandbridge, visit Grandbridge.com.
About Ben Jacobson
Ben Jacobson, Founder of Blackstone Consulting, has over 15 years of experience in various start-ups, international business development and real estate.
Jacobson started Blackstone Consulting in 2008 and has grown its managed portfolio to include governments and institutions.
Prior to starting Blackstone Consulting, Jacobson has developed and invested in numerous startups, ranging from international retail brands to the development, leasing and sale of millions of square feet of residential and commercial real estate.
About Blackstone Consulting
Based in Miami, Florida, Blackstone Consulting is a boutique asset management firm founded and guided by the principles of integrity, efficiency and their client’s goals in the center of it all.
Blackstone offers its clients an experienced team and platform when it comes to maximizing their assets returns and value.
