CHARLOTTE, NC—A partnership of locally-based Mountain Real Estate Capital and Varde Partners of Minneapolis provided capital to facilitate Oakwood Homes' acquisition of Henry Walker Homes of Centerville, UT.

The deal allows Denver-based Oakwood Homes' continued expansion into the northern Utah residential market. According to the joint announcement by private equity lender Mountain Real Capital and Oakwood Homes, the value of the assets of Henry Walker Homes is more than $75 million. Oakwood Homes is the largest residential builder in the state of Colorado.

“When presented with the opportunity to acquire Henry Walker Homes, we were immediately intrigued,” says Oakwood CEO Pat Hamill. “We were expanding into Salt Lake City, and Henry Walker is already established in Utah with a solid reputation in the area.”

The acquisition will provide Oakwood with 1,300 lots across 42 communities located primarily in the Salt Lake City metro area. The deal will allow Oakwood to accelerate its expansion into Salt Lake City. Given the firm's internal growth coupled with the Henry Walker acquisition, Oakwood intends to close more than 1,100 homes in 2014, the company states.

“This opportunity allows us to capitalize on our strong capital foundation with Mountain Real Estate Capital and Varde Partners, and leverage our efficient building practices towards our vision of being the best homebuilder in America,” Hamill says.

Mountain and Varde began providing strategic capital for Oakwood in 2012 in a joint partnership to acquire Banning Lewis Ranch in Colorado Springs, CO and then became partners in Oakwood's home building operations last year.

“We continue to be very excited about our partnership with Oakwood and the future direction of their company,” says Peter Fioretti, CEO of Mountain Real Estate Capital. “Pat and his team continue to execute our strategic plan very successfully.”