Faes & Co., an investment firm led by former LendInvest founder Christian Faes, is to expand its US real estate bridging finance business having secured a loan from OakNorth.
Faes & Co. manages the Faes & Co Income Fund which is a private credit fund for accredited investors that invests alongside the firm’s institutional investors, in loans originated by its platform.
In early 2023, the firm launched F2 Finance, which is focused on providing real estate bridging finance to property entrepreneurs. F2 Finance is now actively lending in 13 states across the US, including key markets such as California, Texas and Florida.
The loan from OakNorth will allow the firm to continue expanding its lending activities in the sector, which in 2022 was estimated to be $40-50 billion a year in annual originations.
Faes said: “There is a housing crisis in the US. More than half of homes in the US are over 40 years old, and a large proportion are in desperate need of rehabilitation and repair. This is against the backdrop of not enough new houses being built over a number of decades.
“Bridging finance is a key tool for the entrepreneurs that are actively working to improve the nation’s housing stock, and the growth outlook for the sector, from an investment perspective, is very positive. Real estate bridging finance is a domain that we know extremely well, and I have personally been involved in the sector for almost two decades.
“We are excited to be building a relationship with OakNorth as they too have deep domain expertise with real estate lending and are a group that is entrepreneurial and aligned to our values as a firm.”
Dylan Jagjivan, associate director of debt finance at OakNorth, added: “This transaction represented the opportunity to support a highly experienced team, as they expand in the US market.
“Faes & Co has an unrivalled track record in the real estate bridging finance sector and is a market that we specialise in at OakNorth.
“We are delighted to be able to support such an entrepreneurial and ambitious business and look forward to supporting them on more growth projects in the future.”
