NBS Real Estate Capital is comprised of the partners of Norris, Beggs & Simpson, a locally based real estate services firm, and fund manager Rance Gregory. Gregory most recently worked for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and, subsequent to the merger, Credit Suisse First Boston, where he served as a Los Angeles-based principal of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, investing more than $265 million of equity for two different funds.

"Real estate markets have held up remarkably well through this economic downturn, largely on the strength of low interest rates and a lack of attractive investment alternatives, however; we are entering a phase in this unique real estate cycle where we could see prices for non-stabilized assets flatten or decrease even as market fundamentals begin showing signs of improvement," says Gregory. "With interest rates increasing recently, we are starting to find pricing anomalies and early signs of owner distress that will create investment opportunities for NBS Real Estate Capital, particularly in situations where we can offer the fund's preferred equity and mezzanine debt solutions to capital-constrained investors and developers."

The fund's investors include pension funds, foundations, bank holding companies, private businesses, charitable trusts and high-net-worth individuals. It will focus on office, industrial and multifamily investments in the metropolitan areas of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. The fund will focus on investments requiring $500,000 to $5 million of equity. Its typical hold will be three to five years.