Firm Capital Corporation “Firm Capital” has established a track record as a leading non-bank lender in Canada providing bridge financing – 1^st and 2^nd mortgages, land financing, construction financing, secondary debt on investment properties, subordinated debt and J/V equity capital. The company’s market knowledge, deal structuring expertise and proprietary capital including the publicly traded Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (FC –T), operating since 1999 allows the company to provide quick turnaround when it comes to structuring deals.

As we emerge from the pandemic, developers will be facing challenges presented by the inflationary increases in hard construction costs as well as soft cost increases due to longer entitlement periods, while office and some retail investment property owners will be forced to repurpose some of their assets as tenants adjust their business models and reduce the dollars they will want to spend on their real estate footprints. Industrial properties and multi-family properties will continue to be the favored asset classes, however increased competition from institutional investors in core markets will impact development yields and returns.

“When I look back on the last 12 months I see how our deal selection and underwriting discipline that we have learned over the years has contributed to our strong loan portfolio turnover and asset quality,” said Michael Carragher, Vice President, Mortgage Investments. This is good news for our investors as we continue to provide a stable stream of distributions.

Over the last 5 years we have completed $3.8 billion in debt transactions. We pride ourselves in understanding a transaction quickly and providing deal structures that meet the needs of our clients, including first and second mortgages. Our loans can range from $1.0 million to $50.0 million and may go up to $100 million for select opportunities. Loan facilities are typically interest only, with terms ranging from 12 to 24 months. Our team comprises seasoned veterans with a multi-cycle track record of experience who work closely with our clients to achieve successful results for all stakeholders.

Our focus is to work with small and large private developers who operate in the major urban markets across Canada; we are also comfortable in underwriting transactions in secondary markets where the size of the project matches the underlying fundamentals of the market. In addition, we provide capital to smaller cap real estate corporations as well as smaller cap public and private REITS; our program comprises: subordinated debenture debt, bridge financing mortgages to repurpose properties, secondary debt on specific properties or a line of credit for acquisitions and equity redemptions. We are constantly looking for niches in the markets we operate in that are under serviced by large institutions.

In Canada, Carragher sees the supply constraints for residential housing including single family, new construction condominiums and purpose built rental units to continue to be a challenge in markets like Toronto and Vancouver and some secondary markets across the country such as Halifax, Ottawa and Kitchener – Waterloo. To be frank, the availability of supply will likely get worse as development time lines keep getting pushed out and now construction timelines are facing the same issues meaning reduced completion numbers, this will be further compounded by the restart of fresh immigration. Unfortunately, not what buyers and renters will want to hear.

At Firm Capital, our ultimate goal is to build strong working relationships with developers/builders and investment property owners by providing a high level of service, market expertise and competent deal execution skills. In the real estate finance business you want to be able to work with a capital provider that has proprietary capital, can make decisions and is prepared to work with you in difficult times.

Over the next year, Firm Capital is targeting $1.0 billion in new business.

For more information on our lending programs, please visit www.firmcapital.com