Faes & Co gets OakNorth funding for US bridge finance business
Faes & Co has received a loan from OakNorth to expand its US real estate bridging business.
The Californian-based investment firm is led by former LendInvest founder Christian Faes. It manages the Faes & Co Income Fund – 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 company launched F2 Finance, which focuses on providing real estate bridging finance to property entrepreneurs. It now lends across 13 states in the US, including California, Texas and Florida. The OakNorth financing will allow F2 Finance to expand its activities in this sector.
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“There is a housing crisis in the US,” said Christian Faes, chief executive of Faes & Co.
“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.”
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“This transaction represented the opportunity to support a highly experienced team, as they expand in the US market,” added Dylan Jagjivan, associate director of debt finance at OakNorth.
“Faes & Co has an unrivalled track record in the real estate bridging finance sector and is a market that we specialize 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.”
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