Jessy Kadimadio
Founder & Managing Director
Every mandate starts with understanding what the client is actually trying to achieve. My role is to bring the right people around the table, structure the requirement clearly and remain involved as the transaction develops.
Beyond the Initial Financing Requirement
Sutterson Reed was approached in relation to an eight figure capital requirement for a substantial mixed use development in Portugal. The project combined residential and hospitality elements within a wider regeneration area and had already reached an advanced stage of preparation.
At first sight, the requirement appeared relatively straightforward: provide capital to support the acquisition before longer term development finance could take over. Our review identified a more important question. The acquisition, sponsor equity, development programme and subsequent construction financing could not sensibly be considered in isolation.
The transaction was therefore approached as a capital structuring exercise rather than simply a search for a lender.
Sutterson Reed reviewed the proposed capital stack, underlying real estate, sponsor contribution, development programme, timing and intended exit. Through discussions with specialist real estate capital, several elements of the original structure were challenged, particularly the relationship between leverage, equity and the timetable required for institutional due diligence.
That process changed the financing conversation. Alternative structures were considered, the role of additional equity was examined and the relationship between short term acquisition capital and longer term development finance was repositioned.
The mandate illustrates an important distinction in complex corporate and real estate financing. The amount requested by a client is rarely the whole question. Understanding what the capital must achieve, when it is required and how it will ultimately be repaid is often what determines whether a transaction can be financed at all.
Structuring Before Sourcing
Our approach was deliberately selective. Rather than circulating the opportunity widely, the requirement was assessed first and then positioned with capital providers whose appetite was relevant to the asset, jurisdiction and proposed structure.
This allowed the discussions to focus quickly on the points that genuinely mattered to credit: sponsor commitment, leverage, execution timetable, development risk and the eventual repayment strategy.
The result was a clearer capital structure and a defined institutional financing route, giving the sponsor a framework from which the transaction could progress.
For Sutterson Reed, this is where the value of a Private Office becomes most visible. Access to capital matters, but understanding how a transaction should be presented to that capital comes first.
Certain details relating to this mandate have been withheld or generalised to preserve client and counterparty confidentiality.