In a challenging era for CRE finance, these men, women, teams and companies have demonstrated exceptional prowess in navigating choppy waters. They managed to steer through a period of elevated interest rates and successfully grappled with falling property valuations, a trend that has made refinancing particularly tricky for many in the sector. Moreover, they have shown an uncanny knack for operating within capital markets that have become increasingly stringent. Their innovative solutions and steadfast leadership have paved the way for new opportunities in what has been an unpredictable market.
KBS Finance Team
The experienced finance team at KBS provides the firm with extensive structured finance and capital markets expertise. EVP Robert Durand leads the team along with VP of financing portfolio operations Marné Kaufman and due diligence coordinator Kay Bratt. Durand has more than 27 years of direct experience in originating, underwriting, structuring, negotiating, closing and workout of CRE loans for both borrowers and lenders. The team has executed multiple multimillion-dollar deals during the recent difficult economic times while maintaining financial stability for each fund and setting the stage for a stronger performance as the real estate cycle begins to turn positive. It has accomplished this due to a transaction history spanning numerous investment cycles and downturns and CRE asset types including office, industrial, multifamily, retail and hospitality. With experience in fixed- and floating-rate structures, first trust deed, mezzanine/structured finance and bridge loans, Durand and his team are also skilled in revolving lines of credit, construction loans, loan syndications and complex portfolio financings and workouts. In addition, they specialize in loan portfolio management, real estate economics, financial modeling and analysis, and credit underwriting. During the past three years, the KBS team has completed more than $9.5 billion in financing and interest rate hedging activity for both KBS-owned and client-owned assets. This includes acquisition loans, refinancing of existing loans, loan modifications and extensions, and interest rate swaps and caps. The team’s significant transactions include a $550 million refinancing transaction for Prime US REIT, a publicly traded Singapore REIT, in which KBS served as the U.S.-based asset manager for the portfolio. The transaction included a $400 million term loan facility and a $150 million committed revolving credit facility.
Story first published in ALM | Globest.com