ValueXpress arranged a large CMBS conduit financing for a portfolio of 3 limited-service hotels, the Staybridge Suites – Corpus Christi, Holiday Inn Express – Corpus Christi and Comfort Suites – Corpus Christi. The borrower was an affiliate of ZJZ Hospitality, Inc., which is controlled by local Corpus Christi hotel owner, developer and manager Deven Bhakta.
The transaction provided a return of excess equity in the assets and the non-recourse loan replaced recourse financing. “I am growing my company and portfolio, and I realized it was time to utilize the capital markets to access fixed-rate non-recourse debt like my larger competitors,” said Deven. “I was impressed by the service I received from ValueXpress and the CMBS conduit lender; the company delivered on what it said within the time frame outlined at the beginning of the transaction.” said Bhakta. “By maintaining the closing schedule, I received the rate I was quoted.”
“After a conference call on a Saturday with the CMBS conduit lender in which Deven said ‘the deal is a go’ my associate, Jay Bhakta, and I were on planes to Corpus Christi that night,” said Michael D. Sneden, Executive Vice President of ValueXpress. “We pulled out our computers, scanners and diligence checklists and worked three solid days on site to complete the entire property diligence checklist, allowing resources to immediately move to the legal side and ample lead time to meet the closing schedule. Deven had never completed a capital markets transaction, as is the case with many of our clients, so we guided him each step of the way.”
“The transaction was a great experience for me and I anticipate using the capital markets for debt financing on subsequent projects that are either in the development or stabilization phase,” said Deven. “Using non-recourse debt frees up my capacity to use community bank debt for construction of new properties or repositioning/renovation of existing properties that I can then bring into the capital markets when stabilized.”