Carlton Group handles record $1 billion in transactions

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 18, 1998

The Carlton Group, Ltd.'s investment banking, commercial brokerage and loan sale advisory services units combined for more than $1 billion in real estate and loan advisory transactions in 1997.

The volume represents more than 12 million square feet of office, hotel, retail, industrial and residential property, according to Howard L. Michaels, Carlton's chairman. It includes transactions involving debt and equity placements, investment sales and loan and REO disposition services, he added.

"We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone in our corporate growth," said Michaels. "To have attained this level indicates that our company has been able to anticipate and react to the needs of both the marketplace and our clients, and that we have the proven ability to consummate complex transactions."

Prominent among Carlton's achievements during the past 12 months was its role as financial advisor to the purchasers of the Sylvan Lawrence portfolio--four prime office properties totaling four million square feet of office and retail space--for $387.5 million, one of the largest all-cash sales of Manhattan real estate in history.

Other select Carlton transactions in 1997 included:

* Arranging an $85-million permanent mortgage for 260 and 261 Madison Avenue, two Grand Central District office buildings totaling 900,000 square feet;

* Arranging $47 million in acquisition financing and $57 million in bridge and permanent financing in two separate transactions for 100 Church Street, a one-million square-foot office building in Downtown Manhattan;

* Securing $56 million in a refinance of two mortgages secured by 310 and 400 Madison Avenue, two Midtown office buildings totaling 700,000 square feet;

* Obtaining $46 million in acquisition financing for 67 Broad Street, a 670,000 square-foot office building;

* Arranging $38 million in construction and mini-permanent financing for the Massapequa Mall, a 450,000 square-foot power center on Long Island;

* Procuring $22.6 million in acquisition financing for the Shore Club and The Sheralton Hotels, a to-be-developed luxury beachfront hotel and spa facility in South Beach, Fla., and $22.6 million of refinancing for the 400-key Newark international Airport Hilton Hotel.

In addition, as exclusive sales advisor Carlton generated in excess of $150 million in aggregate proceeds on behalf of premier U. S. financial institutions, corporations and investors such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac), Bankers Trust, AMRESCO Management, Inc., Fleet Bank, Gotham Hospitality Group, OCWEN Financial Corp., CSX Transportation, Inc., Shoney's, Shell Oil Co., Star Enterprise and Flagstar.

One of the keys to Carlton's success according to Michaels, is the combination of its strong service-oriented philosophy and talented professionals using state-of-the-art financial models for both financing transactions and loan pricing advisory work.

"These sophisticated tools," he added, "allow us to arrange and prepare required documentation to present a comprehensive format for underwriting or investor review. Moreover, based on our transaction volume Carlton is able to access key decision-makers at the various investment banking firms and financial institutions with whom it deals to gain a quick response and efficiently complete transactions for its clients."

Headquartered in Manhattan, The Carlton Group, Ltd. and Carlton Advisory Services, Inc. is a national real estate investment banking firm specializing in debt and equity placement, loan and REO portfolio sale advisory and accelerated marketing programs.

Carlton was rated the 14th most active real estate advisor and the 10th most active loan sale advisor by Real Estate Alert.