Key Takeaways
- • LNL Capital, the net lease real estate capital solutions platform and portfolio company of Leste Group, has exceeded $800 million in assets under management and expects to reach $1 billion AUM by the end of 2025, according to a Business Wire announcement.
- • Founder and CEO Joseph Yiu, former CIO of ElmTree Funds, projects the firm could grow to as much as $2 billion of annual deployment by 2027.
- • Todd Stender, formerly Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities where he led the net lease equity REIT research team, has been appointed Managing Director to support capital formation and investor relations.
- • LNL Capital's strategy covers structured equity and debt for sale-leasebacks, build-to-suit, portfolio acquisitions and other U.S. net lease properties, with investors including insurers, endowments, pensions, family offices and RIAs.
Summary
LNL Capital, a provider of capital solutions to the U.S. net lease real estate sector, announced it has surpassed $800 million in assets under management and is on track to reach $1 billion AUM by the end of 2025. The firm is a portfolio company of Leste Group, a Miami-based global alternative investment manager founded in 2014. LNL Capital was launched in 2023 by Founder and CEO Joseph Yiu, former CIO of ElmTree Funds, to increase Leste's exposure to the net lease sector. The firm manages capital on behalf of insurance companies, endowments, foundations, pension plans, family offices, RIAs and other asset managers across the U.S. and Latin America.
The firm focuses on structured equity and debt investments for sale-leasebacks, build-to-suit transactions, portfolio acquisitions and other net lease properties. Yiu argued that net lease real estate has proven resilient and is less exposed to current market pressures due to long-term leases, and said LNL's pipeline has it positioned to grow to as much as $2 billion of annual deployment by 2027. Recent investments include construction financing for tire and auto facilities leased to a private equity-backed automotive repair company, a preferred equity loan for a cold-storage facility leased to a Fortune 500 corporation, and an acquisition bridge loan for multiple car wash locations.
LNL Capital has appointed Todd Stender as Managing Director, with responsibility for capital formation and investor relations. Stender was previously a Senior Director at Irvine Company and a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities, where he led the net lease equity REIT research team. He cited growing demand for net lease equity and debt solutions across retail, industrial and other property types, driven by corporate and franchisee expansion, sale-leaseback activity and property owners' need to refinance legacy assets. Mac Johnson has also joined as a senior associate focused on underwriting; he previously underwrote at Spirit Realty Capital and worked as a credit analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Stender and Johnson work alongside ElmTree alumni Andrew Truetzel, who joined as a Director in 2024.
Stephan de Sabrit, Managing Partner of Leste Group, said banks continuing to tighten lending criteria, lower financing advance rates and higher borrowing costs create ample opportunity for LNL Capital. Leste's private credit strategy, active for close to a decade, is led by de Sabrit and industry veterans Mark Hong and Ricardo Gennari.
The firm focuses on structured equity and debt investments for sale-leasebacks, build-to-suit transactions, portfolio acquisitions and other net lease properties. Yiu argued that net lease real estate has proven resilient and is less exposed to current market pressures due to long-term leases, and said LNL's pipeline has it positioned to grow to as much as $2 billion of annual deployment by 2027. Recent investments include construction financing for tire and auto facilities leased to a private equity-backed automotive repair company, a preferred equity loan for a cold-storage facility leased to a Fortune 500 corporation, and an acquisition bridge loan for multiple car wash locations.
LNL Capital has appointed Todd Stender as Managing Director, with responsibility for capital formation and investor relations. Stender was previously a Senior Director at Irvine Company and a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities, where he led the net lease equity REIT research team. He cited growing demand for net lease equity and debt solutions across retail, industrial and other property types, driven by corporate and franchisee expansion, sale-leaseback activity and property owners' need to refinance legacy assets. Mac Johnson has also joined as a senior associate focused on underwriting; he previously underwrote at Spirit Realty Capital and worked as a credit analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Stender and Johnson work alongside ElmTree alumni Andrew Truetzel, who joined as a Director in 2024.
Stephan de Sabrit, Managing Partner of Leste Group, said banks continuing to tighten lending criteria, lower financing advance rates and higher borrowing costs create ample opportunity for LNL Capital. Leste's private credit strategy, active for close to a decade, is led by de Sabrit and industry veterans Mark Hong and Ricardo Gennari.
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