Thorofare Capital has recently funded a $12,800,000 non-recourse loan at 75% LTC for the acquisition of a retail and industrial portfolio totaling nearly half a million square feet. A Chicago-based joint venture partnership between two private investment firms purchased the three-property portfolio, which comprises an anchored retail center, retail and industrial mixed-use property, and a manufacturing/industrial building located in Downers Grove, IL. The portfolio provided excellent cash flow with a going-in, portfolio-wide 1.4x debt coverage ratio and a 15%+ debt yield at an attractive loan basis of $26 per sq./ft.

The sponsor is an experienced local distressed real estate investor group with a fully integrated platform for management, leasing and construction.. The sponsor acquired the Downers Grove portfolio through a bankruptcy auction of Qualteq, which was among a group of companies led by a Chicago-based family and once ranked among the five largest minority businesses in the Chicago area before it encountered financial woes.

The Centre Circle Industrial property is 100% occupied through a long-term lease with Valid USA, Inc., a strong credit tenant backed by Valid S.A., a global publicly traded company with a $2 billion market capitalization. The property is situated on 2.7 acres of land, provides 72,400 net rentable square feet, and features 6 covered dock-high doors, 20’-22’ production clear heights, 21’-25’ warehouse clear heights. The property is strategically located for its use as a manufacturing/distribution facility within direct proximity of I-355 and I-88. The convenient interstate access is an important characteristic of the tenant’s efficient distribution operations.

Meadowbrook Shopping Center is a 188,000 square foot shopping center comprised of four buildings, situated on 18.8 acres. The property is located in an infill retail location just east of I-355. Currently, the property is 90% occupied with 35 tenants, many of whom have been at the center for over twenty years. The largest single tenant, grocery supermarket Westbrook Market, has been in business since 1917. The property has a large parking lot representing a parking ratio of 4.5 per 1,000 square feet of gross rentable area.

University Plaza Center is approximately 90% occupied with 9 tenants and consists of a one-story, multi-tenant retail building with a two-story industrial/storage component, situated on a 13.4-acre parcel of land. The retail and industrial components consist of 111,187 and 117,893 rentable square feet, respectively, for a total net rentable area of 229,080 square feet. The secured manufacturing and warehouse facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art security initiative. The warehouse area also has a two-story finished office space.

Thorofare provided substantial support, flexible pre-payment options, and unmatched certainty of execution for the sponsor to win this opportunistic acquisition and execute its business plans. Further, Thorofare’s ability to close the transaction in just three weeks allowed the sponsor to capture a highly discounted bankruptcy auction price.