Justin Leonard

Operates as a real estate investment trust which owns premium hotels and resorts

Walton Street Capital (WSC) seeks to acquire real estate assets that have significant cash flow and the potential for residual value enhancement through targeted capital improvements, tenant lease-up opportunities and improvements in operating efficiencies. The firm employs a value approach that targets the acquisition of real estate assets at a discount to their replacement cost or, in some cases, below their current market value. WSC also makes larger investments of $100 million and up in assets with significant scheduled tenant rollover and/or capital improvement requirements. WSC participates in transactions involving complex ownership situations. They acquire real estate assets which are undervalued due to the complexity or illiquidity of the existing ownership or capital structure. In such situations, the firm seeks to gain control of the asset and prepare the asset for sale, without the prospective risks of bankruptcy, fragmented ownership or property-level issues. The firm also seeks to invest in illiquid structures. The firm looks for passive opportunities to acquire the interests of an entity at a significant discount to the underlying net asset value when the underlying assets are nearing their disposition. Although WSC primarily invests in US assets, they do seek access to opportunities within global markets. The firm accesses these global opportunities through experienced, local partners and operators who have established, long-term relationships within their markets and have access to proprietary transaction flow. In addition, WSC participates in selected land acquisition and development opportunities. The firm seeks to capitalize on an imbalance between the supply and demand of space for a particular property type in specific markets which possess proven barriers to entry. The firm looks for opportunities to capitalize on pricing arbitrage opportunities within and between the public and private markets. They invest in entities that require additional capital to restructure their ownership, recapitalize their portfolios, fund additional acquisitions and to capitalize on the spread between the private net asset value of a public entity's underlying real estate and the public entity's share price. WSC considers private equity platform investments in experienced real estate operators or operating companies that need capital to expand or to develop a significant asset base. The firm seeks to build enterprises that they cannot build efficiently on their own. They invest in assets that have public and/or private exit opportunities and significant upside through the consolidation of a fragmented asset ownership base and the potential for attractive returns on cost due to an enterprise's leading expertise or specific industry profile.

Functions as a College/University