Oaktree Capital Management funds and Avana Companies have teamed up to provide $250m (€224.5m) in private real estate debt financing in the US.
The pair have created the Avana-Oaktree Private Credit Partnership (AOPCP), through which Avana will use the capital to provide the financing over the next three years.
AOPCP’s funding will provide small and medium-sized enterprises in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector with access to capital in the form of bridge and construction loans for all CRE products, the companies said.
Justin Guichard, MD and co-portfolio manager at Oaktree Capital, said: “Oaktree has firsthand experience through past partnerships with Avana.
“The Avana team’s unparalleled expertise and reputation in the CRE lending industry aligns with our focus on risk control in private credit investments.”
Sanat Patel, chief lending officer and co-founder of Avana Companies, said: “We meet with every business owner we have lent to; it is important to us to put a name and a face to a loan as part of our due diligence, credit underwriting, and risk mitigation.
“Our ability to build capital for a better tomorrow lies in our team’s deep-rooted history in lending and the trust we have in our partners at Oaktree.”
Sundip Patel, CEO and co-founder of Avana Companies, said: “After 22 years of working within the CRE industry and SMEs, we recognise the challenges of this tight lending environment and that’s why we are challenging our team to lend $250m in the first year.
“This capital from Oaktree enables us to multiply our social impact exponentially, offering financing opportunities to entrepreneurs and supporting financial inclusion.”
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