In February 2009, Douglas A. Tibbetts, Gary Sligar and Paul Klick formed Trecap Partners to provide advisory services to a real estate industry that was reeling from declining values and frozen credit markets. At the time, Trecap Partners teamed with Transwestern for on-the-ground assistants with assets in various markets.

Now Tibbetts tells GlobeSt.com that the partnership with Hunt Cos. is positive for the capital that the latter can provide, as well as Hunt Cos.' expertise in real estate investment and development. "Hunt has built its business through public-private partnerships, generally through investments with the Department of Defense in building military housing throughout the country," Tibbetts explains. "They know real estate; they want to seek out opportunities, and their entrusting us to find those opportunities."

Hunt Cos.' support services are also important to Trecap Partners' strategy, Tibbetts continues. "They provide all the human resources and information technology for us; as well as strong back office support," Tibbetts adds.

Unlike Trecap Partners' 2009 partnership with Transwestern, however, Tibbetts had no previous relationship with Hunt Cos. The two companies were introduced to one another by Ferguson Partners in a manner Tibbetts likens to "old friends coming together to help meet new friends."

Tibbetts hints that the Hunt Cos.-Trecap Partners relationship would be used to handle everything from investments to new funds, but didn't mention specifics. In the meantime, Tibbetts isn't shy about his desire to see the Sarasota, FL-basd Trecap Partners expand through the addition of new partners.

"We're interviewing a lot of companies and people, and continue to look for expansion opportunities to continue our growth," he says. "In this environment, we're receiving a lot of resumes."