Victory Park Capital Expands into Real Estate Sector with Investment in Renovo Financial
Press Release
Apr 15, 2015
CHICAGO – APRIL 15, 2015 – Victory Park Capital (VPC), an asset management firm focused on middle market debt and equity investments, announced today that it will make a $50 million investment, with a $100 million potential upsize, in Renovo Financial, a Chicago-based private lending company that assists rehabilitation investors in acquiring, renovating and selling/renting residential properties. The investment will refinance Renovo’s existing portfolio, finance loan portfolio growth and support expansion into new markets outside of the Chicagoland counties.
“Renovo’s market leadership in the Chicagoland area, experienced management team and industry knowledge are exceptional,” said Tom Affolter, partner at VPC. “We believe this is an opportunistic time to partner with Renovo to help provide loans in the underserved residential rehab lending space and expand into new markets.”
Founded in 2011 by Kevin Werner, CEO of Renovo, and Granite Creek Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, Renovo originates short-term rehab loans and long-term landlord loans to creditworthy and experienced residential rehab investors enabling them to reduce their cost of capital as well as efficiently acquire and sell properties at highly attractive rates of return. After building a robust infrastructure and experienced management team over the last three years, Renovo will use the funding to accelerate growth initiatives and diversify its product offerings to better serve its customers.
Werner said, “Our goal for Renovo is to play an active role in addressing the funding needs of the residential rehab community. The massive dislocation in the credit markets during the recession provided an opportunity for a specialized finance company, like Renovo, to provide capital to creditworthy residential rehabbers. In partnering with VPC, we are pleased to have secured a large amount of capital to fulfill the needs of our borrowers as they continue to enjoy success in their businesses.”
“We are excited to team up with a firm as knowledgeable and experienced in the specialty lending industry as VPC to continue to scale our business,” added Mark Radzik, partner at Granite Creek. “With our seasoned leadership and VPC’s expertise, we are confident Renovo is well positioned to drive future growth.”
About Victory Park Capital
Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC (“VPC”) is a privately held, SEC-registered, global alternative investment firm. VPC provides opportunistic capital solutions to both emerging and established businesses with an expertise investing across various sectors where traditional sources of capital are limited. The firm’s differentiated offerings leverage an extensive network of industry relationships, disciplined deal origination, creative financing capabilities and broad credit structuring and special situations expertise. The firm was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.victoryparkcapital.com.
About Renovo Financial
Renovo is a rapidly growing specialty finance business designed to capitalize on the significant market opportunity in providing capital to residential real estate investors. Founded in 2011, Chicago-based Renovo is the premier provider of financial and strategic support for real estate investors and property rehabbers who invest in and rehab single-family and small multi-family properties. Renovo powers the growth of its customers’ businesses and the communities they serve by providing timely capital, responsive customer service, and assistance in all phases of a project for its clients. Renovo’s clients are experienced rehab investors and project managers, whose goals are to redevelop properties to buy, fix, and flip for a short-term profit or buy, fix and hold as a part of a long-term portfolio. Renovo’s high-touch service, expert advice, and speed combined with flexible and innovative loan products allow its borrowers to commit to and undertake projects with confidence. Renovo typically funds small to mid-sized projects up to $1 million. For more information visit: www.renovofinancial.com.
About Granite Creek Partners
Granite Creek Partners is a Chicago-based investment firm founded in 2005 that provides equity and debt capital to public and private companies and innovative specialty finance for underserved industries. Granite Creek pursues situations where a flexible investment approach can deliver unique and highly customized solutions across an array of investment types. With a focus on investing in fundamentally sound U.S.-based middle market companies, Granite Creek looks to accelerate the building of its portfolio companies through global expansion, add on acquisitions and access to growth capital. For more information visit www.granitecreek.com.