NEW YORK CITY-Cushman & Wakefield announced Monday that it served as the exclusive advisor to an affiliate of Madison Capital Management in arranging the sale and recapitalization of Cirkers Fine Art Storage and Logistics, at 444 West 55th St. in Midtown. The transaction involved securing $39 million of debt financing, as well as private equity on behalf of the new ownership. The ten-year senior and mezzanine financing was provided by Redwood Trust.
A Cushman & Wakefield equity, debt and structured finance team of Steve Kohn, president; Dave Karson, executive managing director; Chris Moyer, director; Sridhar Vankayala, associate; and Tara Hovey, analyst, served as exclusive advisor to Madison Capital Management.
“We had very aggressive bidding from both the debt and equity markets, and the buyer had great options to finance this building,” says Karson in the announcement. “The debt markets are particularly liquid right now, and Redwood offered a very attractive package that met all of the buyers needs.”
Cirkers is a state-of-the-art storage facility that has offered services in storage, logistics and handling of fine art and antiques for nearly 140 years. Located in Midtown West, the structure is in close proximity to Chelsea art galleries and the museums of Midtown and the Upper East and West sides. Madison acquired Cirkers in 2008 and has completed significant renovations to exceed market standards and differentiate it from the competition, according to the announcement.
“Art storage is a little off the beaten path for many investors, but the stickiness of the cash flow, the de minimal credit loss and the quality of the management team won many investors over,” continues Karson in the announcement. “There is enormous appetite to invest in well located property, and virtually everything in Manhattan is financeable right now.”
“The Manhattan fine art storage market has high barriers-to-entry,” adds Moyer. “Due to the lack of available land for new construction, high build out costs for fine art storage, and the scarcity of buildings suitable for conversion into fine art storage facilities, it is extremely difficult for new fine art storage facilities to enter the Manhattan market.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
