Metropolis Capital, AMA Financial Merge Into New Entity
The combined group aims to surpass $2 billion in annual transactional volume over the next few years.
Capital markets firms Metropolis Capital Advisors and AMA Financial merged their boutique companies to form a national commercial mortgage brokerage specializing in structured finance and equity options across the full spectrum of commercial real estate classes.
Metropolis-AMA Advisors aims to double its transactional volume over the next three years to more than $2 billion annually. In anticipation of this growth, the new company intends to hire seven to 10 loan originators. Metropolis Capital Advisors had eight employees and AMA Financial had three. All have joined the new firm. Clifford Mendelson, founder & CEO of Metropolis Capital Advisors, and Gregg Wallace, founder & CEO of AMA Financial, will lead the combined entity as co-CEOs.
“We see tremendous opportunity in the multifamily refinance space as well as anything that was financed with the construction loan in the last three to five years,” Wallace told Commercial Property Executive.
The firm will be providing capital markets service nationally, addressing financial needs across real estate classes, including commercial office, medical office, retail, warehouse/industrial, hospitality, multifamily and residential, student housing, senior living and self storage.
READ ALSO: Is M&A Activity Back in Commercial Real Estate?
Financial instruments will include permanent fixed-rate financing, preferred equity, mezzanine, construction and bridge loans, as well as forward financing. Metropolis-AMA Advisors is set to leverage its founders’ long-term relationships with CMBS lenders, life insurance companies, pension funds, Fannie/Freddie DUS programs and equity investors to build the capital stack and provide solutions to complex real estate finance transactions.
“Given the higher interest rate environment, we are confident there are strong opportunities in the gap equity space,” Mendelson told CPE. “Providing the money between when construction loans mature and the new first mortgage sizing is far less than the construction loan. We’ve been extremely active in helping fill that gap.”
The group will have headquarters in both Bethesda, Md., and Philadelphia with regional offices in Dallas and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Metropolis-AMA Advisors plans to open additional offices in Los Angeles and New York City.
Longtime bonds
Mendelson and Wallace forged their longtime friendship and business relationship at Syracuse University, where they met as undergraduates. As both entered the capital markets advisory industry, they maintained close personal and business relationships that have continued for almost 40 years. They say they share similar values and have complementary skillsets that enabled them to both build boutique-style companies.
Over the years, they regularly bounced ideas off each other. Now they have formalized their relationship as they tap into individual and group strengths, and grow the size of their combined business.
Previous deals
Prior to the merger, Mendelson assisted in debt placement for the $51 million acquisition by Finmarc Management of a four-building Class A office portfolio totaling 620,000 square feet within the Dulles Technology Corridor in Herndon, Va.
Several years earlier, Mendelson also assisted in arranging financing for Finmarc when the firm acquired Frederick Corporate Park, an 11-builiding office/flex park totaling nearly 440,000 square feet in Frederick, Md., for $43 million.
You must be logged in to post a comment.