Private lending firm opens in Coral Gables

A pair of New York financial executives have teamed up to launch New Gables Capital, a Coral Gables and New York-based commercial real estate lending firm.

Steven Fischler, founder, president and managing principal of New York-based SRF Ventures, and Eyal Alfi, a banker and principal of the Miami-based Pan York Group of Companies, opened their office at 135 San Lorenzo Avenue earlier this year. Together, they have more than 40 years of finance-related experience.

New Gables Capital arranges and provides financing that ranges from $1 million up to about $30 million for commercial projects across all sectors. “We don’t want to compete with [the bigger firms] like Fortress and Ladder Capital,” Fischler told The Real Deal.

The firm, which has commitments to fund more than $100 million this year, is backed by a high net-worth family and other high net-worth investors, he said. So far, it has lent more than $50 million. The firm provides mezzanine loans, land acquisition loans, and preferred equity. And interest rates vary anywhere from 6 percent to 13 percent, depending on the deal, Fischler said. In December, the firm financed the bridge loan for two properties on Lincoln Road under a ground lease.

The private lending company aims to fill a void in the lending marketplace of borrowers who are “frustrated of dealing with banks” and overlooked by traditional lenders, or too small for large banks and non-banks. A typical deal closes in about three to four weeks, compared to the average 60-day period with banks, Fischler said.

“It’s pretty much our money,” he said. “We’re quick, we’re nimble and we’re flexible.”