Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced that it has formed Walker & Dunlop Structured Finance, a dedicated team of specialists that will focus on sourcing and placing structured finance capital for real estate sponsors throughout the United States. The new team will leverage Walker & Dunlop's extensive network of capital providers to address the strong market demand for structured finance capital including joint venture equity, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, and construction financing, across all commercial real estate asset classes.
"The formation of a dedicated structured finance team is a strategic step in expanding Walker & Dunlop's offerings to meet our clients' diverse capital needs. The expertise of the team, combined with their resources on the Company's scaled platform, will be an asset to our clients and set us apart from competitors in the market," said Walker & Dunlop President, Howard Smith.
The Structured Finance team will be led by Chris Harris, senior vice president, who has decades of experience sourcing equity for commercial real estate investments.
"The market currently lacks organized, national efforts to help capital providers source the types of opportunities that Walker & Dunlop encounters every day through its broad lending platform. The Structured Finance team will fill that void through the team's market knowledge, broad relationships, and proactive approach to facilitating valuable opportunities for both commercial real estate sponsors and capital providers," said Harris.
Walker & Dunlop's relationships with both domestic and foreign capital providers including life insurance companies, pension fund advisors, institutional and family office funds, and REITs will allow our Structured Finance team to arrange financing that meets the needs of its diverse client base. The members of the new team have been involved in a combined $72 billion of transaction volume, demonstrating their significant industry experience.
The dedicated Structured Finance team is comprised of equity placement experts across the United States:
- Northeast/Mid-West/South: Chris Harris
- Mid-Atlantic: Jamie Butler
- Southeast: Kris Mikkelsen, Kevin O'Grady
- West: Mark Strauss, Gabe Weinert
- Pacific Northwest: Eric McGlynn