Red Capital Group has made two hires in its senior housing sector as it expands its trading and distribution platforms. Matthew O’Grady and James Scribner join the firm as managing directors based in the Columbus, Ohio, headquarters and Connecticut, respectively.
O’Grady will work as a trader, underwriter, and salesman in the senior-living sector. Reporting to chairman and chief executive officer William Roberts, O’Grady will trade in the primary and secondary markets, and will underwrite senior-living bonds that are lower and nonrated.
“The skill set required to get bonds underwritten and distributed is unique,” O’Grady said. “You need to understand who the players are, from borrowers to investors, and I certainly know who the players are and enjoy a good working relationship with them.”
O’Grady said he joined Red Capital now because the timing is right.
“The landscape has gotten to where borrowers are looking for other providers and the skill set that Red already has — with the addition to my skill set — will make Red an even more serious player in the senior-living space,” he said.
O’Grady will work on distribution to high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. He was previously responsible for pricing underwriting and secondary market activity for Herbert J. Sims & Co. He has underwritten almost $5 billion in tax-exempt project finance debt.
Scribner joins Red Mortgage Capital, an arm of Red Capital. He is responsible for leading private-placement efforts for high-net-worth and institutional investors, and will originate and structure equity and subordinate debt investments for senior housing clients.
He reports to Jim Sherman, head of the senior housing group, and Jim Henson, lead counsel and interim CEO of the firm’s broker-dealer arm.
Scribner will work with existing mortgage banks to provide traditional first- mortgage financing and to “provide solutions to clients up and down the capital stack.” He also previously worked at Herbert J. Sims, where he completed over $150 million of equity and subordinate debt structuring on asset values totaling in excess of $2 billion.
“We plan to continue to expand Red Capital’s fixed-income talent, geography, and capabilities — including underwriting, trading, and distribution capabilities — through additional top hires, the development of internal talent, acquisitions, and alliances,” Roberts said.
The firm is planning to hire additional members in its Columbus, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York-area offices, as part of a strategic initiative to deepen its origination capabilities in seniors housing, health care and multifamily housing. The firm will hire several senior living tax-exempt bankers, a few analysts, and a support researcher in the next 24 months.
“Recognizing the changing landscape in the senior housing, multifamily, and health care sectors, and the need to provide owners, operators, and developers with another option, Red Capital is excited to expand its capabilities,” Roberts said.
“More generally, interest rates are going up; it is just a question of when and by how much,” he said. “As rates move higher tax-exempt financing will regain an advantage across the spectrum of housing, health care and project-based finance. There is more to come.”
Red Capital Group provides debt and equity capital to the multifamily, student and seniors housing, and health care industries. It has nine offices nationwide and has provided over $46 billion in taxable and tax-exempt first-mortgage debt, mezzanine-level capital and equity to multifamily, seniors housing, health care, and other real estate properties nationwide.
As of Dec. 31, 2010, Red Capital ranked 23rd in top senior managers in the housing sector, underwriting $35.3 million of bonds, according to Thomson Reuters.
