San Francisco, CA, December 5, 2007 – GE Real Estate’s North America Lending division recently announced the opening of a new regional office in San Francisco, CA to increase its existing presence in the rapidly growing areas of Northern California and Pacific Northwest. The announcement came as Alec Burger, president of GE Real Estate’s North America Lending business, delivers the keynote address on “Finding Clarity in Today’s Capital Markets” at the second-annual RealShare San Francisco/Bay Area at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
The new office is led by industry veteran Michael Coen and is responsible for transactions originating out of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, Seattle and all surrounding markets. It is located at 100 California Street in San Francisco’s Financial District and the main phone number is 415/247-1200.
“We are pleased to be able to grow our presence in this region,” noted Michael Coen, managing director, GE Real Estate. “The growth prospects in all of our markets are strong for all the major commercial real estate asset classes. We’ve significantly increased our regional interests in the market and are excited to expand our practice with additional high-level real estate professionals.”
New Office Funds Major Deal In Seattle
GE also announced today that it provided a $26.6 million loan to the Intra-Corp Properties fund for its acquisition of a portfolio of Class B office buildings located in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square district.
“These are attractive, well-occupied properties in a desirable location with significant barriers to entry,” said Kyle Williams, senior director, GE Real Estate
. “Intra-Corp has the experience and expertise to take full advantage of a strong value-add opportunity to increase revenues across the portfolio.”
Added Coen, “We really like what’s happening in the office, multifamily, retail, hospitality and industrial markets in the region, and our forecast for long-term economic growth remains strong, which is another exciting factor for us. At GE Real Estate, we think these markets are under-penetrated with a tremendous opportunity for growth, and are looking forward to a long-term presence in the region."
In addition to Williams, other top industry professionals joining Coen’s team in San Francisco include: Joshua Hatfield, Anthony Tabaniag, A.J. Bolino, Scott Davis and Kurt Nelson.
GE Real Estate’s North America Lending division offers financing for retail, industrial, self-storage, multifamily, office, student housing, regional malls and outlet centers. North America Lending is also a provider of financing solutions for niche asset classes including affordable housing, golf, hospitality, vacation ownership, manufactured home communities and RV resorts.
GE Contact:
(Press inquiries only)
John Oliver
Office: 203/750-3089
Cell Phone: 203/984-7757
john.oliver@ge.com
For other inquiries please call 1-888-GE-First extension 333
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Richard Ringer
312/649-0371
rringer@hlbcomm.com
Notes to editors:
About GE Real Estate
GE Real Estate (
www.gerealestate.com) is one of the world's premier commercial real estate companies with more than US$72 billion in assets and a presence in 31 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Backed by GE's AAA rating, GE Real Estate offers a comprehensive range of capital and investment solutions including equity capital for acquisition or development, as well as fixed and floating rate mortgages for new acquisitions or re-capitalizations of commercial real estate. With a 28% compound annual growth rate since 1993, GE Real Estate is one of the world's fastest growing and most profitable real estate enterprises. This extraordinary record of success grows out of a reputation for collaboration and partnership; a depth of knowledge and experience and a history of building relationships, finding opportunities and opening doors for more than 5,000 owners, builders, borrowers and brokers worldwide.
GE Commercial Finance (
www.gecommercialfinance.com) offers businesses around the globe an extensive array of financial products and services. With more than US$276 billion in assets and expertise in the middle-market, GE Commercial Finance provides loans, operating leases, financing programs and innovative structured capital to help customers grow. Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, GE Commercial Finance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with operations worldwide.
