SANTA MONICA, California – Faes & Co., an investment firm led by former LendInvest plc founder Christian Faes, has received a loan from OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, to expand its US real estate bridging finance business.
Faes & Co. is an investment firm that actively builds and invests in technology-enabled direct lending businesses. It manages the Faes & Co Income Fund which is a private credit fund for accredited investors that invests alongside the firm’s institutional investors, in loans originated by its platform.
In early 2023, the firm launched F2 Finance, which is focused on providing real estate bridging finance to property entrepreneurs. F2 Finance is now actively lending in 13 states across the US, including key markets such as California, Texas and Florida. The loan from OakNorth will allow the firm to continue expanding its lending activities in the sector, which in 2022 was estimated to be $40-50 billion a year in annual originations.
OakNorth was founded in September 2015 with one fundamental purpose: to serve and empower the lower mid-market (businesses with $1m-$100m turnover) that are seeking to scale but are routinely underserved or overlooked by traditional banks. OakNorth began operating in the US in mid-2023 and has since lent c.$700m to businesses there, including several credit funds and construction lending platforms, as well as a $25.1m note-on-note facility to New York-based next-generation, multi-strategy investment firm, Mavik Capital. The bank also received authorization from the Federal Reserve and the New York State Department of Financial Services for a Representative Office in New York, enabling it to significantly build on what it has lent to date.
Christian Faes, CEO, Faes & Co commented: “There is a housing crisis in the US. More than half of homes in the US are over 40 years old, and a large proportion are in desperate need of rehabilitation and repair. This is against the backdrop of not enough new houses being built over a number of decades. Bridging finance is a key tool for the entrepreneurs that are actively working to improve the nation’s housing stock, and the growth outlook for the sector, from an investment perspective, is very positive.Real estate bridging finance is a domain that we know extremely well, and I have personally been involved in the sector for almost two decades.We are excited to be building a relationship with OakNorth as they too have deep domain expertise with real estate lending and are a group that is entrepreneurial and aligned to our values as a firm.”
Dylan Jagjivan, Associate Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth commented: “This transaction represented the opportunity to support a highly experienced team, as they expand in the US market. Faes & Co has an unrivalled track record in the real estate bridging finance sector, and is a market that we specialize in at OakNorth. We are delighted to be able to support such an entrepreneurial and ambitious business and look forward to supporting them on more growth projects in the future.”
ENDS
About Faes & Co
Faes & Co is an investment firm focused on providing investors with consistent, stable, asset-backed returns. Our flagship Faes & Co Income Fund invests in real estate bridging loans secured by first mortgages against residential property across the US. Our group company, F2 Finance, is a technology-enabled real estate bridging finance lender that originates loans for our platform. The firm’s team have been involved with building direct lending businesses in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and the U.S.; these companies have over $5 billion in Funds under Management and employ over 200 people. For information on our group, please visit www.faes.co and follow us on Twitter @faesandco and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/faesandco
For press inquiries, please email [email protected]
About OakNorth
Launched in September 2015 and founded by entrepreneurs, OakNorth is a digital bank focused on serving and empowering the lower mid-market (businesses with £$1m-$100m in turnover), that are seeking to scale but are routinely underserved or overlooked by traditional banks.
To date, it has provided c.$16bn to these businesses across a wide range of sectors, achieving performance metrics that place it amongst the top 1% of commercial banks globally. Its loans have directly contributed to the creation of 47,000 jobs, and over 29,000 new homes across the UK and the US – the majority of which are affordable and social housing.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.
For press inquiries, please email: [email protected]