FinovateFall 2014 alum Patch of Land has raised more than $23 million in a Series A round. SF Capital Group led the investment, which included the participation of Ron Suber, president of Prosper Marketplace.
The investment is a major infusion of capital for the company. Patch of Land’s total funding now stands at $25 million. Neil Wolfs, SF Capital Group president, will join Patch of Land’s board of directors.
An innovator in the field of real estate crowdfunding, Patch of Land sees the investment as an opportunity to provide the loan products, such as construction and buy-to-rent loans. In this, building bigger and better relationships with institutional investors is key. “We look at them as our capital firepower,” COO Jason Fritton said. Additionally, the capital will help Patch of Land build out its team, adding loan officers, underwriters, and others.
Left: CMO AdaPia D’Errico and CTO Brian Fritton demonstrated the Patch of Land platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.
According to The Real Deal, the investment makes Patch of Land “one of the best-funded real estate crowdfunding platforms” in the country. The company has generated 12% annual returns for investors since inception, which is what may have helped spur interest among institutional investors. Issuing $17 million in short-term, commercial real estate loans without a single default likely provided additional impetus for larger investors to get involved in the real estate crowdfunder.
“We are excited to work with this dynamic team and help them capture the tremendous opportunity they have identified,” said Wolfson. “Patch of Land was one of the first companies to focus exclusively on real estate debt investments and the first to offer pretended loans, which dramatically shortens the time developers wait to get funded.”
Patch of Land was founded in February 2013 by Carlo Tabibi, CEO; Brian Fritton, CTO; and Jason Fritton, COO, and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company has 10 employees; more than 2,500 investors; and more than 280 loans in its pipeline, with an average loan size of $240,000.