January 18, 2022
LEM Capital Announces Historic Transaction Volume 2021 along with its 2022 Value-Add Multifamily Acquisitions Goals
Philadelphia, PA – LEM Capital, L.P. (“LEM”) today announced $1.23 billion in transaction volume in 2021 along with other key milestones. Their 2022 goals reflect a continuing trend of robust activity in acquisitions and dispositions.
2021 Accomplishments
• Over $1.2 billion in total transaction volume
• 8 property acquisitions totaling 2,800 units
• 9 property sales totaling 2,500 units
• 3 loan refinances
• Named Best Real Estate Manager (fund size <$1bn) by Private Equity Wire1
• 9 team members promoted
2022 Goals
• Acquire $650 million of value-add multifamily properties (8-10 properties)
• Continue focus on primary suburban markets on the East and West coasts, major sunbelt markets, including the four major cities in Texas, and Nashville, Chicago, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Denver
• Expand acquisitions team with 1 new hire
• Add 2-4 new third-party Operating Partners
Sales and Acquisitions
“There was an incredible amount of activity in the multifamily sector last year and we were an active participant on both acquisitions and dispositions,” said Greg Biester, Partner and Co-Head of Investments. “We executed 9 sales valued at over $565 million with additional deals under contract going into the new year. The appetite for well-located, infill multifamily product continues to grow especially in the suburban “smile” markets where we invest like Atlanta, Phoenix, Sacramento and Tampa.”
“2021 was our biggest year in terms of acquisitions transaction volume. We acquired 8 properties and over $650 million of total real estate exceeding our original goal for the year and continuing to grow our multifamily footprint across the US,” said Allison Bradshaw, Partner and Co-Head of Investments at LEM. “We took advantage of the strong market momentum to transact on assets that we believe are well-positioned for growth. Our entrepreneurial size and Operating Partner relationships enabled us to successfully navigate a very competitive market environment and should help us create long-term value for our investors.”
LEM’s value-add multifamily investment program targets equity investments ranging between $10 million and $35 million per property, with total capitalizations ranging from $35 million to $90 million. “LEM’s value-add business plans typically contemplate upgrades to apartment interiors, common areas and a particular focus on the amenities with the goal of providing a ‘like-new’ experience at a moderate price point for the average working-class American renter. We work closely with our Operating Partners to help them source and win deals and then work side by side to develop and implement business plans that seek to create value over our typical 4-5-year hold periods,” said Herb Miller, a Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “2021’s results bring our total volume of transactions since 2011 to 106 properties acquired and 72 sold.”2 Since the firm was founded in 2002, LEM has raised over $1.65 billion of investor capital.3
Firm Developments
In recognition of the Firm’s performance in 2021, several team members were promoted. Chris Potavin, a Director on the Acquisitions Team and lead on the Firm’s Debt relationships, was promoted to Managing Director. Chris covers acquisitions in the major Texas markets as well as Nashville and the Carolina markets. Brendan Warrington was promoted from Analyst to Associate on the Acquisitions team. Alex Giacco, who transitioned to the Acquisitions team mid-year from Asset Management, was promoted from Analyst to Senior Analyst.
Luke Perl, Head of Asset and Portfolio Management, was promoted to Managing Director from Director. Jamie Bittenbender was promoted from Operations Coordinator to Vice President, Operations and Jenil Shah, a member of the Portfolio Management Team, was promoted from Analyst to Senior Analyst. As noted in a prior release, Allison Bradshaw, Greg Biester and Jennifer Clausen were all promoted to Partner.
In October, LEM was named “Best Real Estate Manager” by Private Equity Wire based on data provided by Bloomberg. LEM’s award was in the under $1bn fund size category.1 “We are honored to be recognized for our consistent fund performance over the past five years. It is especially gratifying to be named in this category since we believe our boutique fund size allows us to remain disciplined and is a major reason for our performance,” said LEM Founding Partner Jay Eisner.
About LEM Capital
LEM Capital is a real estate private equity firm with a 19-year track record focused on protecting investors’ downside and building portfolios to help deliver dependable current cash flow and equity upside through good and bad cycles.
The team consists of multifamily experts that seek to acquire well-located apartment properties where LEM can add value and increase rents through physical upgrades and implementation of better management practices. The firm’s approach combines the local, long-term market knowledge and day-to-day management of its network of local partners with LEM’s disciplined investment selection, rigorous due diligence process and intensive asset management oversight. LEM’s goal is to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to its investors while safeguarding capital.
Notes: All Data as of December 31, 2021 unless otherwise noted. 1 – The Private Equity Wire Awards follow a clear and transparent process. For the GP manager fund performance category, the pre-selected shortlists are based on data provided from Bloomberg. Candidates in all categories and asset size groupings were determined as following methodology: 1) The fund manager universe included all funds managed by US-headquartered GPs. 2)All funds in each category were grouped into their respective vintages and ranked on the basis of their net IRRs as at the end of 2020. 3) For the performance categories, five vintages of funds were analyzed – 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. 4) All GPs that had more than one fund ranked among the top performers across those five vintages were shortlisted for that category. 5) For the asset band groupings, asset thresholds were based on the respective individual fund sizes – not the overall assets under management of the GP in that category. Voting for the eventual winners is then conducted via an extensive online poll of the Private Equity Wire readership over a period of several weeks. Private Equity Wire US Awards is not affiliated with LEM. Awards and recognitions by unaffiliated rating services, companies, and/or publications should not be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that the client will experience a certain level of results if LEM is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services; nor should they be construed as a current or past endorsement of LEM by any of its clients. Such rating may not be representative of any one client’s experience. Rankings published by Private Equity Wire US Awards are not prepared by LEM. Working with a Private Equity Wire US Awards recipient is no guarantee of future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the identified firms will be awarded this accomplishment in the future. LEM did not pay a fee to participate in the Private Equity Wire US Awards rankings. The rating is not indicative of LEM’s future performance. 2 – As of December 16, 2021. 3 – As of January 15, 2022.