Sabal Capital Sets Up for Big Growth in 2019

Sabal Capital Partners has hired Jason Pendergist as president and COO of term lending. The firm is setting the stage for aggressive expansion in 2019 along with the launch of new loan products, and Pendergist will play an integral role in the firm’s growth as well as growing transaction volumes. He joins the firm from Banc of California, where he serves as EVP.

“With Sabal’s recent transaction of Stone Point, there is an opportunity to go and scale and leverage the business platform at Sabal and the support and relationships that Stone Point brings to really take the business to a new level,” Pendergist tells GlobeSt.com. “Sabal has been blessed to have a national footprint based on efficiency, customer service and the client experience. Now, what drew me in is the opportunity to leverage that foundation and really grow the business by better perfecting how we deliver our product to market, the client experience and by removing some of the noise out of the system that typically exists in a commercial real estate deal.”

Pendergist made the move to Sabal because it was a platform where he could make significant strides in improving the client experience, especially considering the current regulatory environment. “I have dealt first hand with the ever growing regulatory hurdles that are really detrimental to the client experience, and I was excited to be able to join a finance company and refine a system around what the client experience looks like and feels like,” he says. “I wanted to ensure that what we are doing from a due diligence stance is germane to understanding our clients and understanding our collateral, and that we are not simply checking a box by a regulatory power.”

The company’s rapid expansion plans start with new loan products, which will launch as early as the first quarter of 2019. “We are absolutely looking to expand our product suite. We are adding additional product through a proprietary small-balance conduit of CMBS product that we are looking to launch next year,” explains Pendergist. “We have a couple of test deals that are currently going through our system. We are also looking to add the small balance license and the HUD license to our suite of offerings. As we move into 2019, we expect to be able to make significant progress in standing up those businesses.”

The second prong of Sabal’s expansion it in talent recruitment nationally. The team will ensure a quality client experience, which is essential to the firm’s goals. “Coupled together with the significant expansion of our product is the significant expansion of our sales force,” adds Pendergist. “As we look to fill in the gaps from a regional geographic coverage stance to make sure that we have adequate coverage in all markets throughout the country. We want to be able to reach our client base by car rather than airplane.”