Oak Hill Advisors (OHA) has led a $326.5m (€275m) investment in Workspace Property Trust.
Workspace, a privately-held suburban US office and industrial real estate company, said the new capital raised will be used to grow organically and through acquisitions in key markets across the US.
Founded in 2015 by Thomas A Rizk and Roger W Thomas, Workspace owns and operates 10m sqft of suburban office and light industrial properties in markets across the country including South Florida, Tampa, Phoenix, Minneapolis and two suburban Philadelphia markets.
The founding partners of Workspace include Safanad, Forum Partners, JMP Group, and Everwatch Capital. Oak Hill Advisors will now join this investment group, alongside Mason Capital and funds managed by Rialto Capital Management, Workspace said.
Workspace has been sponsored, in part, by Rizk Ventures a special situations operating firm.
As part of this agreement, Rizk Ventures and OHA will consider additional investments in Rizk Ventures-sponsored platforms.
Glenn August, founder and CEO of Oak Hill Advisors, said: “We believe Workspace is in a terrific position to expand geographically and satisfy the demand for affordable, accessible suburban office space.”
Rizk, chairman and CEO of Workspace, said: “OHA recognises the unique and compelling opportunity facing Workspace today and we are poised to take advantage of the market dynamics to deliver value to our tenants at scale.”
Matt Borstein, OHA partner and head of its real estate investment platform, said: “This investment in Workspace is exactly the type of opportunity OHA is focused on: partnering with a great management team with an excellent operating history and strong performance in a sector with strong secular tailwinds.”
This investment comes at a critical inflexion point for the business, said Thomas, the co-founder, president and COO of Workspace.
“Since inception, we have delivered extraordinary value for our tenants and the communities we serve, and we’ve solidified our leadership position in suburban office space during the pandemic.
“Tom and I have assembled an extraordinary team of professionals who are committed to excellence and our success is a direct result of their performance. As we look ahead into a recovering economy, we see tremendous runway for the business and OHA is the perfect partner for us,” Thomas said.
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