RANCHO SANTA FE, CA and NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired) — 05/29/15 — , a commercial real estate focused technology platform provider, today introduced MREN, the very first “Principal-to-Principal only” global commercial real estate (CRE) transaction platform. The Metis Real Estate Platform (MREN) is positioned to be the disrupter of a $15 trillion commercial real estate industry by supporting principal stakeholders from both sides of a transaction to directly connect, collaborate, and close.
MREN is a secured platform that provides participants with their own private marketplace, executing variety of real estate strategies, whether targeted or accessed via the public market. MREN not only provides participants access to a broad universe of opportunities, buyers and capital, it also offers management support throughout the life cycle of the investment before, during and after a transaction. MREN is available to a wide variety of capital participants. In addition to traditional players such as real estate investment funds, REITs, life companies, private real estate companies, and family offices, it has access to unique capital platforms such as Atom Assets, a Hong Kong-based investment club platform for ultra-high net-worth individuals and family offices.
Commercial real estate industry veterans Joy Hou and Floyd W. Kephart founded Metis in 2013 with a $7 million seed investment secured from a Hong Kong-based family office and active global commercial real estate investor. Metis was created with a mission to bring technology to the traditional commercial real estate industry that is one of the last industries to be transformed by technology. Over the past two years the company has been operating largely in stealth mode establishing alliances, expanding its network and developing proprietary technology in preparation for the launch of MREN.
“The biggest challenge in commercial real estate is fragmentation, but at the same time, the interest in commercial real estate opportunity is global. MREN is set to connect all CRE principal stakeholders globally and create a win-win environment for all parties involved in a transaction,” said Joy Hou, Co-founder and CEO, Metis. “The universe of capital interest in US real estate has recently expanded with increasing interest from family offices and foreign capital. In fact, there was $40 billion of cross border capital that came into the US in 2014, and we expect that number to increase significantly this year as a result of the recent law changes in China that permit institutional capital to invest in foreign real estate.”
“We are actively looking for attractive commercial real estate opportunities in the US, which traditionally can be a long arduous process. The launch of MREN will not only provide us with greater access to US opportunities and operators — we are also utilizing the proprietary technology that MREN has created in order to manage our investments, from due diligence to closing and execution, to asset management,” said Ariel Shtarkman, Managing Director and Co-founder, Atom Assets.
Unlike residential real estate, every CRE transaction is unique and complex, and involves many internal and third party professionals to complete. It is a human capital-intensive business. Every transaction requires heavy negotiation and relationships matter. MREN is designed to minimize the process-oriented aspect of the transaction with respect to data and documents and maximize the support of communication and collaboration for all participating professionals. MREN also offers strategy, valuation, underwriting, and due diligence support, through its alliances with firms such as Alvarez & Marsal, a leading global advisory firm.
In addition to a broad universe of capital and traditional opportunities, MREN is committed to highlighting impact investment opportunities from both public and private sectors, including municipalities, government agencies, universities, and retail business. Many of these entities are asset wealthy and cash constrained. Many do not have the ability to inventory or manage their portfolios, let alone have the ability to manage and strategize on how to maximize the value of their real estate holdings.
“It–s time to utilize private capital to positively impact our communities. Through MREN, private capital will have access to opportunities to not only generate attractive financial return but to also create/preserve jobs, increase the tax base for the municipalities, improve the aesthetics of the communities, and uplift the value of the surrounding assets,” said Floyd Kephart, Co-founder and Chairman, Metis.
CTO Edwin Liu and his team of talented engineers have created MREN–s proprietary technology. The Metis team created a unique proprietary development method to maximize efficiency in the development of data, document and communication capabilities. This ability gives Metis the competitive advantage to continually improve and enhance the MREN platform expeditiously. MREN is expecting to attract approximately $500 million of opportunities from the private sector and $2 billion of development opportunities from the public sector shortly after the launch.
MREN (Metis Real Estate Network) is the very first “Principal-to-Principal Only” global commercial real estate transaction platform. MREN provides all principal stakeholders direct access to a broad universe of capital and opportunities in a neutral environment that supports the entire transaction process. This includes, but is not limited to, information sharing, communication and collaboration for all involved players. In addition to traditional investment opportunities, offered by both public and private owners, MREN is committed to identifying and highlighting social impact investment opportunities. For more information visit .
MREN
Blair E. Buick
Senior Vice President
Tel: +1 858 367-5505
Hotwire Public Relations
Hotwire PR for MREN
Tel: +1 415-840-2790
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