Felix Gutnikov (left) and David Perlman.
Felix Gutnikov and David Perlman
Principal and head of originations; managing director at Thorofare Capital
Thorofare Capital racked up $623 million in transaction volume last year. The lender was continuously busy during one of the toughest markets in recent memory and has poised itself for major growth in the near future.
The Los Angeles-based firm has a national presence these days, originating more than $4.7 billion since its founding in 2010 for properties across 33 states, a presence that led asset management firm the Callodine Group to acquire Thorofare in 2022. The majority of Thorofare’s transactions are in California, though the firm is diversifying away from the Golden State (and New York), with Florida as a quickly growing runner-up, according to Thorofare’s Felix Gutnikov.
The firm focused only on senior loan originations last year, primarily for multifamily, industrial and life sciences projects. Yet one of those life sciences loans — $126 million to investment management firm Harrison Street in November for eight medical facilities in the Washington, D.C., region — was the firm’s first-ever nine-figure deal.
“That was a marquee transaction, kind of a keystone to highlight Thorofare’s maturity in the market, punching above our weight, growing up, and being able to close transactions that are done by much larger institutions,” Gutnikov said.
Elsewhere, Thorofare was a pioneer in the industrial outdoor storage lending space while others in the industry were trying to wrap their arms around the asset type. “It’s not an asset class that’s institutional,” said David Perlman, who heads Thorofare’s New York office. “There’s a lot more entrants into the market and funds are being raised, but they’re not the easiest deals to source because not many people understand the product.”
Another 2023 deal was a $41.5 million acquisition loan to a joint venture between Brookfield Asset Management and King Street Properties for a 60,000-square-foot office-to-life-sciences conversion project in San Diego.
Yet small- to mid-size multifamily and industrial loans remain Thorofare’s bread and butter, together making up nearly 50 percent of the firm’s portfolio. Those types of transactions are legion for Thorofare: a $25 million refinancing and lease-up loan to Palladium Group for a five-story apartment complex in Philadelphia; $54 million in refinancing toward a Chicago data center portfolio; $43 million in construction financing for a six-building multifamily community in Santa Maria, Calif. … you get the idea.
