CHICAGO-Jones Lang LaSalle has made its move into loan origination and servicing, inking a deal to acquire a portion of Primary Capital Advisors, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate lending and serving group. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2011.
While Jones Lang LaSalle has always facilitated loan originations, recapitalization, refinancing, repositioning, asset management and note sales, this move allows the firm to serve as a lender through Primary Capital’s Freddie Mac Program Plus Seller/Servicer. In addition, the acquisition provides Jones Lang LaSalle with a $2 billion loan servicing platform that it plans to expand nationally through additional correspondent and servicing relationships.
Currently, Primary Capital is one of only 26 firms that serves as a Freddie Mac Program Plus Seller/Servicer and one only three firms that were considered “boutiques”. The company’s entire lending and serving business focuses on multifamily product. The firm will continue to operate its successful single-family residential mortgage business across 26 states as Primary Capital Mortgage, while its Orlando office will also be part of the Jones Lang LaSalle acquisition.
“We started thinking about partnering with someone about a year ago, and in talking with several different groups, it became clear that most of them did not need all of our company, only a portion of it,” says Primary Capital co-founder Faron Thompson. “We’ve worked hard to build a great team for 16 years, and we wanted to go someplace that needed our entire platform including both origination and servings. Jones Lang LaSalle was a perfect fit because they needed all that we are, and we needed all that they are. We’re perfect puzzle pieces that set the stage for national expansion.”
Negotiations with Jones Lang LaSalle began in earnest in May 2010, and Thompson tells Globest.com that the acquisition provides Primary Capital with the resources it needs to expand its business beyond multifamily lending and servicing to work with other commercial real estate sectors. “First and foremost, we’re talking about capitalizing on more multifamily opportunities, but we want to be able to service all commercial real estate clients,” he explains. “Our clients love the fact that its business as usual with the same names and faces, but at the same time, Jones Lang LaSalle provides a larger menu of services.”
Jones Lang LaSalle has made a big push into the multifamily market, bringing on Tom Melody, Mike Melody and Tom Fish, along with Jubeen Vaghefi, managing director of the firm’s national multifamily investment sales team, to help drive the expansion of the firm’s overall Americas Capital Markets business.
“We are focused on building an industry-leading capital markets business with a strong foothold in the multifamily business throughout the Americas,” says Jay Koster, president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Americas Capital Markets business. “When we brought on the Melody-Fish team we committed to advancing our market share in the mortgage banking business and establishing a core pillar of our offering in the agency business as a significant growth driver for the firm.”
Thompson will steer the Jones Lang LaSalle’s commercial loan servicing platform and a Freddie Mac Program Plus
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