(Calgary, Alberta) Meridian Merchant Capital Canada today announced that it has been retained by Intreo Wealth to assist with an exciting new real estate investment fund. The Enrichment Fund will allow investors to capitalize on current real estate opportunities emerging from the international credit crisis by directly acquiring real estate assets and refinancing debt on select mortgages or construction loans.
“I am very excited about the Enrichment Fund launch and very pleased to have the support of Meridian,” commented Vincent Chok, President of Calgary based Intreo Wealth. “There is an unprecedented opportunity created by the credit crunch and our friends at Meridian recognize the same favorable circumstances for investors in western Canada’s commercial real estate sector.”
Intreo’s strategy is to create value through the acquisition of troubled assets directly from owners or by purchasing the significantly discounted debt attached to those properties.
“The last few years have seen real estate investors and developers taking advantage of easily accessible credit and a booming market, often leading to circumstances of over-leveraging,” commented Meridian Canada Managing Director Scott Larson. “Currently, amid the real estate and credit market slowdowns, they are often unable to service that debt load and are being forced to sell.”
In many cases, banks and other financial institutions have properties they are trying to sell in order to trim portfolio exposure, limit losses, generate cash flow, and improve balance sheets. These assets include defaulted mortgages on land, office, retail, and industrial properties or those assets that financial institutions are preparing to reclassify as real estate-owned (REO).
“The objective of the Enrichment fund is to buy these distressed loans from lenders at discounted prices, purchase troubled, high quality real estate debt inclusive of profit participation potential, and acquire under-valued commercial properties, primarily in western Canada,” added Mr. Chok.
“This relationship with Intreo is a very important step in the development of Meridian’s service philosophy in the real estate sector,” commented Meridian Canada president Keith Turner. “Meridian doesn’t operate as a fair weather friend to its clients in any space in which it operates. In fact we have renewed our support to the real estate space in a rather contrarian way to our competitors by signing, early in 2009 arguably one of the worst times ever in the industry, major developers in BC and Alberta. We are also adding resources and expert help to support this timely initiative as required.”
Intreo Wealth intends to raise an initial $50 million in capital for the fund.
For more information about investment opportunities in the fund, please contact Brent Buhler at 403-615-6614 or e-mail brent@meridiancanada.com.
The above information is a breif description of the fund and is not a solicitation to invest in The Enrichment Fund.