NEW YORK—Ryan Craft, founder and CEO of Saluda Grade Ventures, said his alternative real estate finance venture firm has raised more than $20 million for its debut growth equity fund.

"We are deploying a unique strategy in the world of private real estate bridge finance," Craft says in prepared remarks. "By leveraging our advisory business, we have sourced intriguing investment opportunities into regionally dominant private lenders that have not yet fully tapped the institutional capital markets."

Craft said the Saluda Grade Alternative Lending & Fintech Growth Fund I is investing in "elite alternative non-bank lenders" — including private real estate lenders, "technology-forward" lending platforms and "synergistic lending technologies." Following its financial technology focus, Saluda Grade was an early backer of San Francisco-based Figure Technologies, which offers online mortgages "without ever leaving home."

Saluda Grade is also an investor in Provenance, the Figure Technologies proprietary blockchain. Figure is backed by financial technology venture firms such as Ribbit Capital and DCM, and has in only two years of operation become America's largest non-bank HELOC originator, according to Craft.

"We have been very impressed with the operational efficiencies that the Provenance blockchain has created for Figure," Craft said. "We are working to onboard our portfolio companies onto Provenance and vertically integrate their origination process onto blockchain."

The fund's leading real estate lender, Renovo Financial, Inc., is Chicago's sector leader and was originally backed by Granite Creek Capital Partners and Victory Park Capital, according to Craft. Renovo recently added JP Morgan and PNC Bank as financing capital partners. The company is looking to aggressively scale beyond its Midwest footprint, while also adding multi-family and single-family residential term rentals to their lending product mix, Craft said.

Craft founded Saluda Grade in 2019. The name comes from the highest summit of a railroad crossing through the North Carolina mountain town of Saluda. It's a boutique real estate advisory and asset management firm focused on the alternative "non-bank" lending sector, Craft said.

Saluda Grade Advisory counsels small to mid-sized lenders seeking institutional capital markets expertise. It delivers institutional capital to private lenders. Saluda Grade Ventures, the firm's equity investment arm, currently manages two private funds. Saluda Grade Asset Management manages debt funds investing in transitional mortgage loans and distressed securitized product assets.

The company has offices in New York and San Francisco. The stated core mission is to identify alternative lending sectors needing institutional capital to fuel growth.

Instant Insights /

Saluda Grade Raises $20M for Bridge Finance Fund

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