The REIT, which focuses on single-tenant, net-leased real estate, was formed in August 2003 by Morton H. Fleischer and Christopher H. Volk, two senior executive officers of Franchise Finance Corp. of America, which was later sold to GE Capital Commercial Equipment Financing in August 2001 for $2.1 billion. Fleischer now holds the chairman and CEO position while Volk is president and COO.

According to SEC documents, the REIT intends "to be one of the limited sources of capital that provides comprehensive, customized real estate financing solutions in significant dollar amounts (in excess of $25 million)…real estate financing solutions take the form of sale-leaseback transactions and, to a lesser extent, mortgage loans and will, to a limited extent, include construction, equipment and corporate loans."

Spirit Finance, which posted revenue of $5.9 million for the first half of the year, boasts a portfolio of real estate and mortgage and equipment loans for 180 properties in 29 states in the US. The portfolio was valued at roughly $341 million as of Aug. 31. The real estate assets include restaurants, interstate travel plazas, movie theaters, automotive parts stores, electronics retailers, educational facilities and specialty retailers.