As the year 2022 comes to an end, we pause and reflect on another year of strong growth. The core of Cameron Stephens remains strong and confident as we head into 2023, while we respond to the outside pressures that continue to challenge us all every day. The Equity business closed on another major downtown development site in the first half of 2022, setting that business up nicely heading into the new year. While the first half of the year set a torrid pace in new debt commitments, the second half came with more resistance in the market from investors and borrowers. The lack of certainty and stability in overnight rates, led to some apprehension, and a moment of reflection on how business will operate on a go forward basis. Nevertheless, Cameron Stephens continued to write meaningful business to finish just shy of $2 billion in new origination. Our deal flow is strong and based on the volume and value of deals currently in the funnel, we are cautiously optimistic for the first quarter of 2023.
When I started with Cameron Stephens over 11 years ago, the thought of a $2B year was not even on our radar. The firm was in early growth mode, and was building the foundations, values, and principles on which we are living today. The founders believed that sustained growth, coupled with rigorous due diligence and a conservative mindset were the means to which we would build longevity. We built a core system of beliefs and principles, and made almost all decisions on that basis; deal merit, borrower reputation, and partnership with institutional and private offices. We have achieved what we have in 2022 based on these principles, and believe we are in a position of power and control heading into whatever 2023 has in store.
I mentioned last quarter that we undertook a re-evaluation of our corporate mission, vision, and values, and to round up this year, I want to highlight the value of Partnership. The fundamentals of who we are, are based on who we work with and who we surround ourselves with. We believe that the people we partner with define our success, and therefore identified Partnership as a core value of CSMC. To provide a more in depth look at Partnership, CSMC VP of Investment Management and Strategy Katie Bonar dives in:
Since its inception in 2004, one of the key drivers of Cameron Stephens’ success has been its strategic partnerships with borrowers and both institutional and family office investors. We have always strived to be a trusted advisor, rather than just a lender, to our borrowers, and our significant volume of repeat business is a testament to the success of this strategy. Cameron Stephens’ strong origination platform and dedicated sales, underwriting, and funding teams ensure that our borrowers receive superior service throughout every step of the process.
We have grown our flagship Family Office LP from $25 million to $350 million of committed capital over the last 18 years, while maintaining the same core investor base of 5 ultra-high-net worth families that are all actively involved in the real estate development and property management space in Southern Ontario. The knowledge and experience of the Family Office LP’s investment committee have provided us with invaluable market intelligence and credit adjudication.
We have also grown our institutional investor relationships over the past 18 years to encompass many banks, insurance companies, trust companies, and credit unions. These investors have enabled us to finance a more diverse array of asset classes and provide larger and more cost-effective mortgages to better serve our borrowers. One of Cameron Stephens’ core strengths is its ability to effectively marry institutional and private capital to provide borrowers with creative, timely financing solutions that meet their complex needs.
I have had the pleasure of working at Cameron Stephens for over 10 years, and as a result have witnessed firsthand the evolution of our partnerships. By providing our investors with rigorously underwritten loan summaries that identify and mitigate material risks, while providing them with strong risk-adjusted returns and negligible loan losses, Cameron Stephens has earned the privilege of continuing to manage their capital for the long term. This has allowed us to continue to provide our borrowers with well-structured and competitively priced mortgages to enable their projects to be completed successfully. We appreciate the unwavering support of our borrowers and investors and look forward to working with them to achieve our long-term strategic objectives.
The latest from DealTalk introduces Alice Block Historic Lofts, just minutes from the heart of Downtown Guelph. Once an industrial factory, Alice Block breathes new life into an existing historic building with a dramatic conversion project, transforming it into a collection of striking modern residences. Together with the City of Guelph’s Heritage Incentive Grant, Cameron Stephens helped fund this project through a $31.1M first mortgage construction loan. Watch the DealTalk video now to learn more about how we finance from the ground up.
It was our pleasure to host two successful events this year in Vancouver and Toronto, sharing our insights and opportunities with CSMT’s investor community. We’re incredibly grateful for the attendance at both events, and look forward to meeting with you all again in the future!
As we approach the end of another year, CSMT has continued to see strong returns across the board. Our growing portfolio now totals over $68.8MM, with an annualized return of 8% to date. We can’t wait to share with you the final numbers for 2022 once the year concludes!
Please join us in welcoming two new members to Cameron Stephens! This fall, we have been joined by Christina Mamic and Harold Chornoboy to help create custom mortgage solutions across Canada.
Christina is an experienced Information Technology Director with over 20 years demonstrated technical history of working in the financial and law practice industries. She is skilled in major infrastructure planning and upgrades, cybersecurity, IT security policies, database management, training, and software development life cycle. Christina has worked for many high-profile companies and has a successful track record of implementing new technologies with a focus on information security and integration.
Harold brings over 40 years of commercial, corporate and real estate lending experience with Bank of Montreal, First Calgary Financial and most recently as Senior Vice President, Commercial markets with Concentra Bank, where he retired earlier this year. Harold will sit as an independent member of Cameron Stephens Internal Credit Committee. Harold will also work with our Investor Relations team to expand our investor network across Canada.
CSMC recently funded a $136MM Construction Loan for 2 new 25-storey high-rise residential development in Brampton. The 349-unit tower is ideally located near the crossroads of two major highways in the city. This is the third condo construction deal we have completed with this development group, and we look forward to another successful chapter in this partnership.
CSMC recently funded a $12.6MM 1st Mortgage Land and Pre-Development loan for a future mixed-use condominium in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood. The half-acre site will be improved with a 7-storey condominium consisting of 107 residential units and ground floor retail. We have a longstanding relationship with the borrower and this loan was facilitated to allow for a larger interest reserve in a rising interest rate environment, and to allow for the prepayment of Development Charges at the current rates.
EP. 41: TORONTO UNDER CONSTRUCTION PODCAST WITH LEONA SAVOIE FROM DORSAY DEVELOPMENT CORP.
In episode 41, we welcome Leona Savoie from Dorsay Developments to the show to discuss starting her career in Planning at the end of the 90’s recession, her experience working with some of the GTA’s top developers, the current state of the market and her advocacy work and being a woman in a male dominated industry.