Urban Standard Capital Secures $135M Investment From GCM Grosvenor

Seth Weissman’s Urban Standard Capital has secured another round of investment capital from GCM Grosvenor, a global alternative investment manager with $80 billion in assets. 

GCM Grosvenor expanded a 2-year-old partnership with Urban Standard Capital by investing $135 million into the New York-based private credit firm. The capital will be used mainly for transitional bridge loans with 12- to 18-month durations. The deal comes just two years after GCM invested $50 million into a firm that specializes in middle-market real estate credit and structured equity financings. 

“In a way, we’re renewing our vows, and obviously that reflects well their view on us, our business strategy, and the team we’ve built,” said Weissman, founder and president of Urban Standard Capital. “’It’s one thing to start a partnership, but it’s quite another thing a couple of years into it to decide you’ll double it, in terms of investment.”

Through this new capital, Urban Standard expects to make as many $1 billion in CRE loans by pairing the $135 million with other sources of investment capital, levering the credit packages, and recycling the loan proceeds, according to Weissman. He added that the firm has $400 million in executed term sheets from GCM’s initial 2023 investment of $50 million.

“Urban Standard Capital is uniquely positioned to capture the compelling flow of middle-market loan originations,” said Peter Braffman, managing director at GCM Grosvenor. 

Braffman noted that his firm sought out alternative lenders like Urban Standard Capital after finding that traditional lenders like commercial banks have pulled back their CRE credit businesses due to regulatory pressures. 

“Historically, we’ve managed money for high-net-worth individuals, family offices and insurance companies, and maybe two years ago expanded into institutional investment with GCM,” explained Weissman. “As we’ve grown, there’s tremendous demand for real estate private credit both from borrowers and also investors.”

Weissman told CO that Urban Standard Capital will play mainly in financing the construction, renovation and repositioning of multifamily assets across the county — typically rental complexes and condos — and that the firm will also invest in financing office and industrial properties, as well as “some retail.” 

He also added that GCM manages large amounts of pension fund capital, which has placed extra responsibility on his firm to invest wisely into CRE projects that can generate return for retirees and union workers. 

“As much as I love to make money for high-net-worth and family offices, it’s also super rewarding to manage money for pension funds, teachers and retirees,” said Weissman. “It’s an awesome responsibility.”

Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com