InterVest Forms Partnership With Builders Capital, Acquires Minority Stake

Builders Capital and InterVest Capital Partners have formed a new strategic partnership, Commercial Observer can first report.

As part of the transaction, New York-based InterVest will invest up to $500 million in Builders and also acquire a minority interest in the Puyallup, Wash.-based firm. 

Robert Trent, CEO of Builders Capital, said Builders was “thrilled to partner with InterVest,” in a statement. “We plan to use the capital to aggressively expand our platform and continue to provide creative financing solutions to our homebuilding customers,” he said.  

“We have tremendous confidence in the Builders Capital team and their 15-year track record as the leading private construction lender to homebuilders,” Michael Gontar, CEO of InterVestCapital Partners, said. 

InterVest — previously known as Wafra Capital Partners — has completed $19 billion in transactions since its inception in 1999. 

Builders is a seasoned construction lender with a focus on development financing, home building and mortgage servicing. It originates loans at both the asset and portfolio level, as well as provides revolving credit facilities.

Last September, the firm provided $24 million in senior mezzanine construction financing for GenX Capital Partners’ high-end condominium property, The Mark. 

A month later, Builders expanded its footprint by opening a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office to serve its East Coast borrowers, which today comprise roughly 25 percent of its client roster, the company said in a release.  

“Builders Capital is well positioned to capitalize on the supply and demand imbalance that exists throughout the U.S. for new construction single-family homes,” Robert Rothschild, a senior vice president at InterVest, said. 

Arik Prawer, co-president and head of capital markets at Builders, said the InterVest capital partnership marks the latest of many for Builders — totaling $3 billion now — as the firm prepares for further expansion. 

“Our ability to secure access to significant capital with high-quality partners like InterVest evidences the strength of our industry-leading platform and the incredible market opportunity in both the near- and long-term,” he said. 

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com.