CLEVELAND—Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, LLC has just entered into a merger agreement with Towle Financial Services, a mortgage banking firm in Minneapolis and Detroit. The merger, which company officials expect will close by the beginning of September, will add about $400 million in annual loan volume and $1.4 billion in servicing. Bellwether, the Cleveland-based subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., will then have a total annual loan volume of $2.5 billion and $8 billion in servicing.
“The partnership is an important component of Bellwether Enterprise's overall growth strategy to increase market share and expand brand awareness throughout the country,” says Ned Huffman, president of Bellwether Enterprise.
As reported in GlobeSt.com, Bellwether has been expanding across the country in recent months, opening up a Western Regional office in California and another office in Boston.
The merger also comes on the heels of several major projects by the company. For example, City of Cleveland recently approved plans to develop over 20 acres of lakefront property near its central business district, a project which will help transform part of the city's lakefront from an industrial area into a place where people live and play. And Bellwether will provide loan origination and financing strategy for the $700 million project, which will put more than 1,000 apartments on Lake Erie.
As part of the merger, Towle executives will receive equity stake in Bellwether, and the 11 employees will remain with the company. Towle will gradually take on the Bellwether Enterprise name.
“Towle's solid reputation and long-standing relationships in the areas it serves made the merger a smart choice for Bellwether Enterprise,” adds Huffman. “We respect its longevity in the region and plan to change the name in due time. Our companies share similar qualities; both are rooted in the Midwest and provide boutique style service. We have overlapping connections with lenders and similar procedures in our servicing departments, which will make the transition smooth and more beneficial for our customers.”
The Enterprise group advocates for and develops affordable housing, and Bellwether Enterprise offers New Markets Tax Credits, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and also provides funds for multifamily development and rehab projects.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
