NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saluda Grade Ventures, a private alternative real estate finance venture firm, announced today that it has raised more than $20 million for its debut growth equity fund. The Saluda Grade Alternative Lending & Fintech Growth Fund I invests in elite alternative non-bank lenders, including private real estate lenders, technology-forward lending platforms, and synergistic lending technologies.
“We are deploying a unique strategy in the world of private real estate bridge finance,” said Ryan Craft, Founder and CEO, Saluda Grade. “By leveraging our Advisory business, we have sourced intriguing investment opportunities into regionally dominant private lenders that have not yet fully tapped the institutional capital markets.”
Saluda Grade, through its Advisory business, delivers cheaper and more scalable capital to enable non-bank alternative lenders to significantly grow their origination volume, reduce their focus on internal fundraising, and deepen their borrower relationships. The firm takes a hands-on approach with alternative lenders to help them grow and become more efficient, while leveraging best practices and strategic advantages across portfolio companies.
The fund’s leading real estate lender, Renovo Financial, Inc., is Chicago’s sector leader and was originally backed by Granite Creek Capital Partners and Victory Park Capital. Renovo, after recently adding JP Morgan and PNC Bank as financing capital partners, is looking to aggressively scale beyond its Midwest footprint, while also adding multi-family and single-family residential term rentals to their lending product mix.
With its fintech focus, Saluda Grade has been an early backer of Figure Technologies, and is an investor in Provenance, Figure’s proprietary blockchain. Figure is backed by top fintech venture firms like Ribbit Capital and DCM, and has in only two years of operation become America’s largest non-bank HELOC originator.
Craft added, “We have been very impressed with the operational efficiencies that the Provenance blockchain has created for Figure, and we are working to onboard our portfolio companies onto Provenance and vertically integrate their origination process onto blockchain.”
About Saluda Grade
Founded in 2019, Saluda Grade is a boutique real estate advisory and asset management firm focused on the alternative “non-bank” lending sector. Saluda Grade Advisory advises small to mid-sized lenders seeking institutional capital markets expertise and delivering institutional capital to private lenders. Saluda Grade Ventures, the firm’s equity investment arm, currently manages two private funds. Saluda Grade Asset Management manages debt funds investing in transitional mortgage loans and distressed securitized product assets.
With offices in New York and San Francisco, the company is driven by a core mission to identify alternative lending sectors needing institutional capital to fuel growth. Its management team has more than 85 years of combined experience in the mortgage and securitized credit space. The firm has deep relationships with both private lenders and capital providers that allow Saluda Grade to bring attractive assets to institutional investors.
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