Izilend, the alternative financing vehicle managed by FS Capital, in which the British fund Pollen Street Capital participates, will close the year with a 50% increase in business volume.
Specifically, The firm expects to achieve new real estate financing operations for a volume of 120 million euroswhich represents a record figure for the company, which to date it financed around 75-80 millions of euros per year. This is how he explained it to elEconomista.es Francisco Jonet, partner of FS Capital, who points out that they hope to continue growing until reaching at least a cruising speed of about 150 million a year. “We have the capacity to reach higher figures if operations are generatedbut we understand that with the current market this figure is totally reasonable,” highlights the manager.
Jonet also points out that Izilend’s goal is not volume, “but for projects to turn out well.” In this sense, Jacobo Díaz de Bustamante, director of FS Capital, points out that they do not bet “on failed projects. The first thing we look at is that the business is healthy. “It makes no sense for us to earn more money than the client,” he points out.
Since they landed in the alternative financing business in Spain, in 2018, The company has signed “125 operations worth more than 350 million euroswhich positions us in the top three in Spain, with 70 successful projects that have already been repaid,” says Asier Uriarte, director of FS Capital.
Izilend started its activity by financing land to developers. “We specialize in bridge loans, but we immediately saw that there were more needs in the sector, which due to the current situation, have increased, since banking is now more restrictive,” explains Jonet.
Focus on residential
90% of the firm’s portfolio is residential. “The Spanish market is very fragmented, since large developers barely represent 10% of the national market,” says Jonet, who highlights that “there are many medium-sized developers who find very good opportunities but do not have the support of traditional bank financing.” “. Izilend supports these companies and also does so throughout the territory, since it has closed operations in 16 different provinces.
The company works from one million euros, being the bulk of its business between 2 and 5 million euros, although, it also has larger operations. “We are finalizing two of about 20 million each,” Jonet anticipates.
In the new financial scenario, the firm has detected that “they receive operations that a few months ago were completely financeable by banks”, explains Díaz de Bustamante. The manager points out that sometimes it is an issue of deadlines. “Many times when operations arise, the investor cannot wait for the deadlines that the bank manages and turns to us, as we are very fast. We have managed to close agreements in four days,” stands out.
