Dealt Creates New Finance Marketplace

An online lending marketplace called dealt, is rapidly becoming a disrupter to traditional commercial real estate debt transactions, say the people behind the platform.

It enables real estate developers, investors and introducers to pitch qualified commercial projects to lenders.

The dealt platform links developers and investors with major non-bank lenders, family offices and credit funds that are all actively seeking real estate finance opportunities, streamlining the process.

The platform incorporates a feasibility and transaction engine as well as various third-party data providers that allow borrowers to quickly and efficiently undertake a financial feasibility study, pull through comparable sales data and put forward their project to the panel of lenders.

Founding shareholder James Storey said that when the group behind dealt first started investigating the opportunity, the non-bank sector was in its infancy.

“Lenders were adding different fee structures and everyone was looking at a different feasibility model,” he said.

“We set out to standardise a feasibility model, so that the borrower and lender can overlay their funding and equity costs and both be looking at a project from the same perspective.”

Storey brings broad experience in founding dealt as Head of Real Assets for 360 Capital Group, investing across real estate debt and equity.

He said this has helped build the platform from his experience as a lender, investor and borrower.

The cloud-based dealt.com.au matches borrowers with lenders on the platform in accordance with the lenders’ appetite, preferences and credit policies.

Allowing borrowers and lenders to undertake the traditional brokerage “dance” online.

While there are already established lending platforms for residential and small business sectors, the commercial real estate loan market remains a relatively under serviced area, Storey said.

“While the platform might not suit larger or multi-stage projects, we have had great traction in projects looking for less than $30 million, predominately site acquisition and construction finance,” he said.

“A few groups have approached us on the equity front so we are looking at adding preferred equity and mezzanine to become a one-stop development capital shop.”

Started with seed capital, the platform has now secured investment from 360 Capital Group and the US-based software developer Talos, LLC.

This has allowed dealt to secure strategic partnerships with a major real estate listing website and sees a lot of opportunity to work with local real estate agents is in the process of carving out a cloud-based development feasibility engine to compete with estate master on a software as a service basis.

“We are in discussions with a major volumetric design platform about integration and other proptech platforms to continue to grow and develop a real estate development ecosystem,” Storey said.

“We have a partner lined up in New Zealand and are looking at how we take dealt to other jurisdictions.”

Dealt has more than 700 registered accounts for borrowers and brokers, and a panel of more than 70 Australian qualified non-bank lenders.

It anticipates it will double the number of lenders in coming months as it extends the offering to offshore lenders due to increasing demand.

“It’s great to be able to finally provide the commercial real estate finance industry an innovative fintech solution that connects and services brokers, borrowers and lenders across the sector,” Storey said.

Click here to attend a development finance application tutorial webinar on 29 March 2021 11am-11.30am AEDT.

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