Brasa Capital Management has announced the closing of its first credit vehicle, Brasa Credit I, LP (“Brasa Credit). Brasa Credit will now allow Brasa to provide both debt and equity on commercial real estate transactions up to $100 million on behalf of its pension fund investors.
Brasa partners with experienced developers and operators to provide between $5 million and $25 million in value-add capital for the acquisition, reposition or ground up development of commercial properties in the Western United States and Texas. The firm completed its first two transactions of the new vehicle with a $16 million preferred equity investment in a multifamily development in Denver and the acquisition of a $4 million sub-performing note secured by a mixed-use asset in Los Angeles.
The joint venture follows the successful launch of the firm’s debut real estate fund at the end of 2018. Brasa Real Estate Fund, LP (“Fund”) exceeded its $100 million dollar fundraising goal with a total of $120 million in capital commitments. Through the Fund, Brasa has acquired 13 assets including industrial, multifamily, life sciences and non-performing loans investing on behalf of pension funds and family offices.
“The new credit platform will allow us to harness our expertise and our local sponsor network to target high-yield opportunities in markets that we have been operating in for some time to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns,” said Brasa Capital Management Founder Eric Samek. “Real estate developers and operators also can benefit from our broader product line that includes joint venture equity, preferred equity, mezzanine debt and stretch senior loans.”
Brasa also announced that Greg Galusha has joined the firm as managing director. Over the span of his nearly 30-year career, Galusha has been involved in every aspect of real estate investment management including origination, asset management, lending, workouts, portfolio management and development. Galusha joins Brasa from real estate technology platform, PeerStreet, where he served as Head of Commercial Real Estate. Previously, he was partner at Los Angeles-based real estate investment and management firm Kearny Real Estate Company. Galusha also spent ten years as Partner with PCCP, an institutional real estate investment firm, where he oversaw more than $1 billion of joint venture equity and debt origination on real estate assets throughout the Western United States.