Victory Park Capital (VPC) is to make a USD50 million investment, with a USD100 million potential upsize, in Renovo Financial, a Chicago-based private lending company that assists rehabilitation investors in acquiring, renovating and selling/renting residential properties.
The investment will refinance Renovo’s existing portfolio, finance loan portfolio growth and support expansion into new markets outside of the Chicagoland counties.
“Renovo’s market leadership in the Chicagoland area, experienced management team and industry knowledge are exceptional,” says Tom Affolter, partner at VPC. “We believe this is an opportunistic time to partner with Renovo to help provide loans in the underserved residential rehab lending space and expand into new markets.”
Founded in 2011 by Kevin Werner, CEO of Renovo, and Granite Creek Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, Renovo originates short-term rehab loans and long-term landlord loans to creditworthy and experienced residential rehab investors enabling them to reduce their cost of capital as well as efficiently acquire and sell properties at highly attractive rates of return. After building a robust infrastructure and experienced management team over the last three years, Renovo will use the funding to accelerate growth initiatives and diversify its product offerings to better serve its customers.
Werner says: “Our goal for Renovo is to play an active role in addressing the funding needs of the residential rehab community. The massive dislocation in the credit markets during the recession provided an opportunity for a specialised finance company, like Renovo, to provide capital to creditworthy residential rehabbers. In partnering with VPC, we are pleased to have secured a large amount of capital to fulfill the needs of our borrowers as they continue to enjoy success in their businesses.”
“We are excited to team up with a firm as knowledgeable and experienced in the specialty lending industry as VPC to continue to scale our business,” says Mark Radzik, partner at Granite Creek. “With our seasoned leadership and VPC’s expertise, we are confident Renovo is well positioned to drive future growth.”
