RIPCO Real Estate is thrilled to announce the addition of Adam Hakim and James Murad to our debt capital markets team. The duo brings a wealth of experience gained from their tenure at Meridian, where they specialized in arranging construction financing and transitional loans in the New York metro region and Florida. They will work alongside Steven Sperandio, with RIPCO’s debt structured finance business.
Murad, who is now a Managing Director out of RIPCO’s New York office, said a big factor in making the move was having a chance to build up a debt platform as RIPCO expands beyond its retail leasing roots — similar to what he and Hakim accomplished together previously at now-defunct broker Eastern Consolidated from 2015 to 2018:
“It was nice when we were at Eastern to build out a debt platform at a company that already had investment sales and retail leasing. They’ve already got that platform here with Sperandio, but we saw this as a good mix between what they already offer and where we could, hopefully hoping to continue to grow.”
Hakim will take on an Executive Managing Director role, splitting time between New York and Miami office where Sperandio is based. Murad said New York and South Florida will be their two focus markets with a particular concentration around transitional assets along with land acquisitions and bridge loans for multifamily, hotel and condominium properties. He added that there also could be more opportunities in the retail sector given RIPCO’s relationships in that space via its leasing arm.
Hakim and Murad have facilitated roughly $15 billion of transactions across various property sectors in nearly a decade together. One of their signature deals involved closing a $350 million construction loan from Bank OZK for Fosun International and J.D. Carlisle Development Group’s condominium tower at 126 Madison Avenue, a deal that closed in 2018 while both worked at Eastern.
Mark Kaplan, President of RIPCO, shared:
“Bringing Adam and James on board marks a pivotal moment in RIPCO’s journey, underscoring our commitment to being a comprehensive player in the real estate market. Their impressive track record and extensive expertise in capital markets significantly propel our capabilities and position us to capitalize on growth opportunities more dynamically.”
Featured in Commercial Observer: Ripco Nabs Adam Hakim, James Murad From Meridian to Expand Debt Platform
