Hatfield Philips Provides Midyear Business Update

LONDON, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hatfield Philips International ("HPI"), Europe's largest independent commercial real estate loan servicing firm, today provided a midyear business update and announced plans to add seasoned commercial real estate finance professionals Rupert Gill and Karen Travis to its management team. Mr. Gill and Ms. Travis will join HPI/LNR Partners Europe as Managing Director and Vice President, respectively, in September. Together, Mr. Gill and Ms. Travis bring more than 25 years of industry experience to HPI/LNR. Mr. Gill will lead the firm's new Debt Advisory and Transaction Management business and Ms. Travis will be responsible for leading the firm's marketing and business development activities.

Since the beginning of 2014, HPI has added more than $1.75 billion of assets under management (AUM) to its loan servicing book. In total, the firm has successfully boarded 18 performing and non-performing loans (NPL) and been appointed servicer on five bilateral mandates. HPI confirmed that it plans to board 48 additional loans by the end of July. HPI also provided due diligence and advisory services on nine NPL deals totaling more than $25 billion and co-invested in two NPL transactions. The firm is in the process of finalizing another co-invest opportunity on an NPL portfolio.

"We have accomplished a great deal over the first half of the year including growing our loan servicing book, winning new servicing mandates, providing underwriting and due diligence services on a greater number of NPL transactions and co-investing in NPL transactions to create an alignment of interest with our clients, which is a key differentiator for us," said Blair Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of HPI. "This progress reflects the plan we have in place to further solidify our position as Europe's premier loan servicer is working. We will continue to evolve as a company by leveraging our industry leading underwriting, work-out and real estate knowledge to build a complementary debt advisory and transaction management platform. This approach not only diversifies our revenue streams, it allows us to create incremental value for our current clients and opens the door for new business opportunities with banks, non-bank lenders and debt investors. I am confident the addition of Rupert and Karen, two highly experienced industry professionals, to our management team will help advance our strategic objectives and create a stronger, more nimble organization overall."

Mr. Gill will join HPI from Lloyds where he currently serves as Director in the bank's structured debt syndication team. His duties in this role include structuring, pricing and underwriting loans for the commercial real estate businesses in Lloyd's Commercial Banking division. Prior to joining Lloyds in 2011, Mr. Gill served as co-head of Cantor Fitzgerald's commercial real estate origination business. He started his real estate career in 2003 at ABN Amro and joined The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 2008. Mr. Gill is a qualified chartered accountant and brings to HPI a strong list of market contacts, which includes banks and non-bank lenders.

Ms. Travis will join HPI from Morgan Stanley where she spent six years as an investor relations, business planner and development specialist. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Ms. Travis spent five years as a Property Agent and Realtor and completed a Masters in Real Estate from Cornell University.  

About Hatfield Philips International Ltd.
Hatfield Philips International is one of Europe's largest primary and special servicers with over £15 billion assets under management. Since its inception in 1997, the Company has established itself as a full-service loan servicer, offering a complete suite of products and services to a wide range of clients that issue, own or invest in commercial mortgage backed securities and loan portfolios. Hatfield Philips is a subsidiary of LNR Property, a United States-based real estate investment, finance, management and development firm, which was acquired by Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) in April 2013.

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SOURCE Hatfield Philips International