News

Next senior hire to grow Excellion’s debt advisory and investment business

London, 10 July 2023 – Excellion Capital, the boutique investment and advisory firm focussed on real estate and asset-backed investments, has appointed Robert Sadler as Vice President, Real Estate. Robert Sadler joins Excellion with more than 20 years professional experience in real estate and real estate finance having worked at a number of banks and institutional lenders including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (PBB) and Deutsche Bank, and as advisor for real estate debt and structured finance for CBRE Capital Advisors and others. Mr Sadler is a CFA Charterholder and earned his Masters degree in International Finance from LSE.

Mr Sadler joins as VP to accelerate Excellion’s growth with a focus on refinancing and restructuring. In doing so, he will leverage the expertise of Excellion’s boutique team led by Robert Stafler and Ashley Marks.

Excellion also recently appointed ex-AXA and UBS MD Anthony Shayle as Managing Director; Mr Shayle previously served for more than 10 years as UBS’ Head of Real Estate Debt for EMEA where he deployed and managed c. £1 billion in assets across UK Real Estate & Real Estate Debt. Mr Shayle was also responsible for restructuring complex loans of c. £300 million value.

The boutique firm now appointed Robert Sadler principally to grow its debt advisory business, with a focus on assisting borrowers in refinancing and restructuring existing debts. Excellion continues to see a marked increase in refinancing activity, driven by the higher interest rate environment in which traditional lenders are withdrawing lending products and tightening lending criteria. At PBB, Mr Sadler successfully restructured property loans worth over €500 million secured on non-core, distressed assets. At CBRE, Mr Sadler advised a global asset manager in restructuring a distressed €300m property portfolio. The firm will continue to grow its debt advisory business whilst also expanding its proprietary investment portfolio.

Ashley Marks, Managing Director of Excellion Capital said:
“We’re delighted to have appointed Robert as VP Real Estate. He joins with a proven institutional background and his experience speaks for itself. More and more of our clients need help to refinance existing debts and seek our assistance. I look forward to him helping drive Excellion forward throughout 2023 and beyond.”

Robert Sadler, Vice President of Real Estate said:
“I’m very excited to be joining the proven Excellion team; skilled individuals with an outstanding track record. The market continues to be difficult for borrowers, hence the need for skill and  creativity in refinancing is pressing. Firms of Excellion’s quality are hard to find and I look forward to being part of the team to helping clients navigate the current climate, achieve sustainable debts and create value.”

Robert Stafler, CEO of Excellion Capital said:
“Delighted to welcome Robert to our firm. With Anthony and Robert, Excellion has now made 2 senior appointments; both come with in-depth restructuring experience and the ability to assist borrowers and lenders resolve stressed situations. We see a growing number of loans, written over the past 4 or 5 years and maturing over the coming 12 to 24 months which, in the harsh interest rate environment with unforgiving yields in some sectors, will require restructuring. Under Ashley’s leadership, our expanded team is in an excellent position to be of genuine assistance to  borrowers and lenders alike.”

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Notes to editors

Excellion Capital (www.excellioncapital.com) is a boutique debt advisory and investments firm. Founded in London in 2007, Excellion makes its own investments and assists borrowers with their real estate finance requirements, raising debt and third-party capital for handpicked clients whilst also advising on refinancing and restructurings.

Over the past 24 months, Excellion has successfully executed several refinancings and restructurings and also raised more than £500 million in new debt for clients, to finance investment and developments across hotels, pubs, leisure assets, residential incl. build-to-rent (BTR) schemes, supported housing, student accommodation, healthcare and commercial property. These include, amongst others:

• debt financing for the successful launch and opening of the new 141-room Hotel AMANO Covent Garden (which Excellion delivered together with its joint venture partner, AMANO Group);
• arranging a £60 million financing of nationwide social housing portfolio comprising 54 properties for Domus, the Social Housing platform of Fiera Infrastructure; and
• arranging a £110 million debt facility for Red Oak Taverns, the operator of 200 pubs across the UK.

The Excellion team of 12 comprises senior individuals who previously worked for banks, lenders and institutions including JP Morgan, UBS, AXA Real Estate, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, CBRE and Standard Chartered. This allows our team to assess each situation accurately from the perspective of both, the borrower and the lender and structure the transaction accordingly. Excellion also has an equity investment arm which can co-invest with borrowers helping to fill funding gaps where required – typical equity investment amounts range from £1.5 million to c. 15 million per investment.

Excellion Capital was founded by CEO Robert Stafler, who also founded Excellion’s sister company, Fintex Capital. Our real estate team across advisory and investments is led by Ashley Marks.