There’s the official CREFC conference at the Loews, which, as one capital-markets pro put it to us, is “a bunch of lenders from the Midwest.” And then there’s the cauldron of dealmaking and schmoozing that happens around the Miami Beach extravaganza, which makes the trip a can’t-miss. This year the vibes were so exuberant and the crowds so thick that even Citi’s party was tough to get into. HSF Kramer’s Jay Neveloff served up Rao’s meatballs (this year he wisely ramped up the helpings) & 🍝 penne alla vodka. Joe & the Juice on Collins was commandeered by lenders for back-to-backs. Post Bros.’ Matt Pestronk, fresh off of scoring a record $465M CPACE, received well-wishers at the 1 Hotel rooftop. Rob Verrone’s Iron Hound dined special servicers + CCRs at MILA. And the event crescendoed at Tyko Capital’s maximal bash at the Setai - even by Adi Chugh’s standards, Adi Chugh went all out. Spotted: Witkoff’s Scott Alpert; Newbond’s Neil Luthra; Extell’s Mark Kwestel; MAG’s MaryAnne Gilmartin, the Oak Row lads; Madison Realty Capital’s Josh Zegen; Galaxy Capital’s Henry “Babyfaced Assasin” Bodek; Genesis’ Jake Gerber; Walker’s Jonathan Schwartz; Ackman-Ziff’s Simon Ziff 👨‍🦱; Fried Frank’s Jon Mechanic ༻࿓; Naftali’s David Hochfelder; Legion’s Victor Sigoura; AXCS’ Justin Piasecki & Jonathan Seabolt; M&M’s Joe Koicim 😍; and a gaggle of Miami builders: Louis Birdman, Edgardo DeFortuna, Arnaud Karsenti. We even think we spotted Pinnacle portfolio stalking horse Tomer Pomerantz of Summit Properties USA, but that could’ve been a mirage.

Who needs Turkish soap operas when you have NYC real estate? We’ve just heard that the judge approved the Pinnacle portfolio bankruptcy auction sale to Summit - catch up here, then here, on this week’s pod here, YouTube here, and on the latest w/ the Flagstar funding commitment to stalking-horse bidder Summit here. The usual newsrooms will have more on the news - we wanted to dive into a couple fascinating revelations from the latest bankruptcy filings. Promote Insiders: read on at the end of this email 👇

“Beacon is saying that the operating partner charged excessive management fees. My guys, you wrote the JV.” 😭 ✏
“So is Ron Burkle paying $7 million to Ron Burkle?” 🪞

This week on the pod, we’re talking a glitch in the Morse code: MCR failed to come up with the cash to consummate the take-private of Soho House. There’s more exothermic reactions in the life-sci 🧪 space – we look at Beacon Capital’s woes and why lenders in the space are miffed. Finally, we discuss the Turkish soap opera that is the Pinnacle rent-stabilized portfolio in 🗽 A shout-out to our sponsors:
1) LoanBoss, the industry-leading debt management software: 1-click covenant testing, instant cash flow forecasting, and live forward curves!
2) Bravo Capital, a leading HUD and bridge lender. See how their precision underwriting means quicker approvals and higher proceeds for sponsors.
 
Listen on Spotify here, YouTube here or Apple Podcasts here. Brands: To get in front of our obsessed (seriously) audience of CRE insiders, reach out here.

“Borrowing money from a friend is like having sex. It just completely changes the relationship.” - George Costanza

A foregone conclusion but still sad to see: Goldman Sachs is taking back the 🔑 on the Radford Studio Center (Seinfeld, among other iconic shows 📽 here) after Hackman Capital Partners’ $1.1B default on its sr. loan. “We’ve made the difficult decision to inform the lenders that we must pause further efforts to complete the restructuring,” Hackman told his investors, per Bloomberg. Going all-in on soundstages (Hackman, HPP) during the pandemic (content is 👑 etc.) was one of those thesis-driven bets (see also life sci discussion in today’s pod) that have struggled mightily. Telling stats here as of this summer: Revenue @ Radford covered just 1/5 of debt service (floating-rate reaper ™ strikes again) , occupancy was at just 63%.

On soundstages specifically, Los Angeles hasn’t done itself or its players any favors: Rather than slash red tape, the city seems to fetishize it. (Our Dec. pod dives into all this.)

Two of the biggest I-sales brokers in the affordable housing space are no longer at CBRE: Armand Tiberio & Spencer Hurst exited the firm this week, The Promote understands, in the midst of contract negotiations. Both had the title of Vice-Chair, which in CRE brokerage isn’t a management position. Instead, it’s a way to telegraph, both to clients and colleagues, that “these are the big 🐶 🐶 .” Tiberio & Hurst, along w/ Robert Sheppard, launched their LIHTC-focused Tax Credit Group at Marcus & Millichap in the early aughts; CBRE acquired their unit in ‘15. Sarah Garland will now be interim leader, w/ an assist from COO of capital markets Kevin Aussef. It’s the latest shake-up in a team that recently saw the exits of Vice-Chair Jeff Kunitz (still a free agent) and Mike Canori (now at Berkadia).

The co-founders of Vision & Beyond, who positioned their firm as the go-to multifamily syndicator for members of the Israeli armed forces before going dark and leaving behind a flood of lawsuits and panicked LPs, have been indicted on fraud charges by a federal grand jury. Stas Grinberg and Peter Gizunterman double-pledged 👬 their properties to obtain multiple loans, officials allege, and also doctored financial statements, closing docs, and removed mortgages from title commitments 🫡 Much of the $36M raised for a portfolio refi allegedly was funneled to a title firm they were in cahoots with, as well as directly into V&B’s own account. "They’re wearing $300 Nikes and driving $80,000 cars," attorney Greg Berberich told WCPO of the Cincy-based V&B lads. “As soon as I saw their paperwork, I thought, 'These guys are amateurs.'" The charges are conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, making false statements and money laundering. 🥻At the top of ‘25, The Promote dove deeper into one of the tastier allegations in the saga: that someone in a V&B deal forged a Bancorp exec’s signature on loan docs. 🖋