LOS ANGELES—A joint venture between Meriwether Cos. and Singerman Real Estate has secured a $30 million loan for the purchase and renovation of the Beverly Hills Country Club. Chicago-based Bradford Allen partnered with Security Benefit Life Insurance Co. to fund the loan, which, despite the excess of capital in the market, did not receive a lot of competition from other lenders. The terms of the loan were not disclosed.

“A country club is a really tricky investment because the revenue is membership based and very hard to quantify year to year,” Charles Hoag, senior managing director at Bradford Allen, tells GlobeSt.com. “The owners are planning to grow the membership, but it was difficult to analyze their business plan. However, because we had such strong faith in the real estate, we were able to take a leap of faith on the business plan. We really believed in the fundamental value of the real estate. We have a strong interest in West L.A., and that area has a strong appeal to our investors and our owners. That is an area that we really believe in strongly from a pure real estate standpoint.”

As a result of the business plan and the nature of country clubs, there was not a lot of competition for the loan from other lenders. “There wasn't a lot of competition for the deal because it was so complicated,” says Ingram. “Over the last three years with the reemergence of the structured finance world and the CMBS market, the vanilla deals have become very much a commodity. Lenders are differentiating themselves primarily on price and leverage in that market because it is so monetized. We were in a unique position because we are active in that market to feel very comfortable with the investment.”

In addition to purchasing the property, the joint venture plans to use the funds to renovate the exterior of the property as well as the interior and the amenities. The property sits on 3.91 acres in the Cheviot neighborhood of Beverly Hills, and features a 34,885-square-foot clubhouse, 10 lit tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool. 

In other country club news, earlier this year a joint venture between the Zaruka Investment Properties and Wedgewood Banquets purchased the Sierra La Verne Country Club from an entity operating as Sierra La Verne Country Club Inc. The property sits on 112 acres in the City of La Verne, and the buyers plan to reposition the property as a wedding and special event space.