Miami-based Leste Real Estate U.S., the real estate investment and credit strategy of Leste Group, realized a double-digit IRR on an investment in a San Diego office building and has announced two more niche deals.
The $1.9 billion firm’s $3 million investment used to fund the purchase of the 59,175 square foot office building in San Diego’s Kearny Mesa submarket yielded that 36% return for the firm. The team also recently funded two new preferred equity transactions in Chicago and Jacksonville, Fla.
“With the need for real estate credit continuing to grow in the current economic environment, we are actively providing creative custom liquidity solutions to sponsors as traditional lenders continue to retreat from the sector,” said Stephan de Sabrit, managing partner of Leste Group. “Our strategy employs a disciplined investment approach, focusing on assets we feel have stable and predictable cash flow streams such as multifamily and net lease.”
In Chicago, the firm completed an $8.3 million preferred equity investment in a 97-unit residential building in the city’s River West neighborhood.
In Jacksonville, the $8 million preferred equity investment was to finance the construction of a new 150,000 square foot aircraft maintenance facility for a leading global aerospace company that develops, manufactures and services airplanes for customers worldwide.
These deals follow Leste Group and SAR Apartment Capital completing a $23.6 million acquisition of four multi-family properties in Columbus, Ohio, last year.
Leste, which was formed in 2014, has deployed more than $400 million in its real estate credit strategy across 60 investments. The team specializes in sourcing and executing senior and structured credit investments collateralized by residential and commercial properties across the U.S.