Key Takeaways
- • NAI/Merin Hunter Codman and partner Joseph Sprouls closed fundraising for MHCommercial Real Estate Fund with commitments from over 50 limited partners (family offices and high-net-worth individuals) to deploy $150–$200 million in Southeast commercial real estate acquisitions.
- • The fund, which began raising capital in April 2019 and officially closes by year-end 2019, has already secured a majority of its $25 million fundraising target and is actively bidding on office, retail, industrial, and multifamily assets ranging from $10–$80 million per deal.
- • Management team includes principals Neil Merin, Jordan Paul, and Dung Lam (NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, a West Palm Beach-based firm with $300 million in acquisitions over the prior five years), plus Sprouls (former global head of commercial real estate services at Citigroup and MetLife) and Corey Winsett (former Torchlight and LNR Property asset manager, now director of acquisitions and asset management).
- • Fund strategy focuses on stable, cash-flowing office and retail properties across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, with selective exposure to industrial and multifamily, reflecting a defensive posture at an advanced market cycle with limited value-add opportunities.
- • Sponsors plan to launch a successor fund "significantly larger" than the current vehicle, signaling confidence in institutional appetite and operational capacity.
Summary
NAI/Merin Hunter Codman and investor Joseph Sprouls have raised a dedicated commercial real estate fund targeting $150–$200 million in acquisitions across the Southeast, according to The Real Deal. The MHCommercial Real Estate Fund has attracted commitments from more than 50 limited partners, comprising family offices and high-net-worth individuals, and is on pace to close by the end of 2019 after launching fundraising in April.
The fund's leadership combines operational and institutional expertise. Neil Merin, Jordan Paul, and Dung Lam—principals of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, a West Palm Beach firm—have collectively acquired over $300 million in commercial real estate over the prior five years. Sprouls brings institutional credibility as former global head of commercial real estate services for Citigroup and MetLife. Corey Winsett, who previously served as an asset manager at Torchlight and LNR Property, joined as director of acquisitions and asset management.
The fund's investment thesis reflects cyclical positioning. MHCommercial Real Estate Fund will primarily target office and retail properties in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, with secondary interest in industrial and multifamily assets. Notably, Merin emphasized the fund is pursuing "stable, cash-flowing properties" rather than value-add opportunities, citing a market environment with limited upside potential at an advanced stage of the cycle. The fund has already bid on properties ranging from $10–$15 million and $50–$80 million in value.
Merin noted the fund has secured a majority of its $25 million fundraising goal and framed the vehicle as an evolution of the firm's prior deal-by-deal approach. "We bought about $300 million in real estate in individual deals over the last five years. We decided this was a better vehicle for everyone to participate in," he stated. The sponsors intend to launch a successor fund that is "significantly larger," signaling confidence in institutional demand and their operational capacity to scale.
The fund's leadership combines operational and institutional expertise. Neil Merin, Jordan Paul, and Dung Lam—principals of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, a West Palm Beach firm—have collectively acquired over $300 million in commercial real estate over the prior five years. Sprouls brings institutional credibility as former global head of commercial real estate services for Citigroup and MetLife. Corey Winsett, who previously served as an asset manager at Torchlight and LNR Property, joined as director of acquisitions and asset management.
The fund's investment thesis reflects cyclical positioning. MHCommercial Real Estate Fund will primarily target office and retail properties in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, with secondary interest in industrial and multifamily assets. Notably, Merin emphasized the fund is pursuing "stable, cash-flowing properties" rather than value-add opportunities, citing a market environment with limited upside potential at an advanced stage of the cycle. The fund has already bid on properties ranging from $10–$15 million and $50–$80 million in value.
Merin noted the fund has secured a majority of its $25 million fundraising goal and framed the vehicle as an evolution of the firm's prior deal-by-deal approach. "We bought about $300 million in real estate in individual deals over the last five years. We decided this was a better vehicle for everyone to participate in," he stated. The sponsors intend to launch a successor fund that is "significantly larger," signaling confidence in institutional demand and their operational capacity to scale.
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