Rob Verrone and Christopher Herron

In the midst of choppy waters and uncertain seas, some teams were the equivalent of a lighthouse this past year. And, when it comes to navigating loan restructurings, few beams shone brighter than Iron Hound Management’s. Amid ongoing dislocation in the capital markets, the team played a critical role in guiding borrowers through restructurings and modifcations to the tune of a whopping $5.3 billion last year, and also closed $1.3 billion in debt and equity placements. 

“The demand for restructuring services steadily increased in 2024, compared to 2023,” Chris Herron said. “Much of this has to do with continued dislocation in office coupled with a new cost of capital that is nearly two times the coupon on some legacy loans. One of the unique benefits that we have is that while we are the most active group in the country in the restructuring space, we also have a complementary debt/equity placement arm that allows us to evaluate each transaction in both ways. There were several situations in 2024 that began as loan extension requests but resulted in refinances.”

Notable deals included the four-year extension for the $480 million CMBS loan on Kushner Companies and RFR’s four-property office portfolio in Dumbo, Brooklyn; the four-year extension of the $227 million CMBS loan on Rockrose Development’s Lincoln Square Property in Downtown Washington D.C.; and a restructuring of the $177.4 million loan on APF Properties’ 183 Madison Avenue. 

While there’s much to be proud of this past year, the complexity of the CMBS restructurings and his team’s skillful navigation of them isn’t lost on Herron. 

“CMBS restructuring assignments remain a complicated assignment as there are always multiple cooks in the kitchen compared to a bank or balance sheet deal,” Herron said. “Each group may hold a different opinion of value of an asset on any given day and depending on who that party is, that will determine who is in control of the decision-making on a deal. Building and maintaining consensus for a loan modification, bringing everyone to the table together, and most importantly keeping them at the table over an eight- to 10-month period, in some instances, without things going sideways, is a tall order. I think there are very few people in the country who can get these deals closed.” 

The team’s also growing. Iron Hound added Job Warshaw, previously head of special servicing for LNR Partners, in September. “When someone in this role chooses to join our company on the other side of the business, I think it speaks volumes as to how we conduct ourselves in our negotiations and that’s something we’re very proud of. Job marks the second hire from a special servicer after Kevin Thompson joined us in 2017 after 13 years with CW Capital Asset Management. Their shared experience in those roles has been invaluable to us over the years.”