Mission-backed Online Marketplace Launches

NEW YORK CITY—Online crowdfinance marketplace EquityMultiple, developed in partnership with Mission Capital Advisors, has entered the marketplace with the public launch of its first deal, GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively. The deal is an equity offering of $750,000 for a redevelopment project in Brooklyn, NY. The project, a $7-million, mixed-use revamp of a former warehouse in North Bushwick, has already been partially funded thanks to an initial private launch.

“With the maturation of technology and the impact of the JOBS Act, the time has come for the real estate industry at large to embrace the enormous potential of marketplace finance, and to open their transactions to new investors,” says Charles Clinton, EquityMultiple's CEO. “We've really only seen the tip of the iceberg in this regard.”

Clinton is a former real estate attorney who has worked on large-scale deals for the Blackstone Group and KKR. Along with CIO Marious Sjulsen, who previously worked in real estate private equity and development, the leadership team also includes Mission Capital executives Peter Shankar, David Tobin, Stephen Emery and Jordan Ray.

“With Mission Capital's access to major sponsors and deals across the country”—it has closed more than $65 billion in real estate financing and loan and real estate sales—“EquityMultiple is positioned to grow rapidly,” Clinton says. “We're confident that sophisticated real estate investors will continue to flock to the site and we're excited to open our platform to new investors who did not previously have easy access to real estate investment opportunities.”

While its initial deal is in its backyard of New York City, EquityMultiple aims to go nationwide. The company will leverage its partnership with Mission Capital to source deals from some of the largest sponsors in the industry as well as smaller developers who are often neglected by institutional investors.

The marketplace will focus primarily on stabilized assets with predictable cash flow and value-add opportunities, and will host two to five concurrent offerings. As the platform grows, it will expand to offer a larger number of investment opportunities.

As part of their strategic partnership, the senior management of Mission Capital led EquityMultiple's preliminary venture capital financing round. Plans call for the company to seek additional capital later this year to fuel expansion and product innovation. In the coming months, the company intends to introduce additional technology products designed to be responsive to the demands of both investors and sponsors.